Green IS the color of my eyes
by Tsubame Ongaku
Summary: Athrun’s only job was to watch and protect Cagalli, especially from herself. But this feisty princess was not about to let him tie her down. HIS hates: MEN that go near her..LITTLE TIP: don't go near. Poor Andy. Annie? who knows? dedicated to DarkTaoAngel
1. Chapter 1

**Tsubame**: Yehey! I decided to make a new story because my stupid computer is taking too long. Anyway I hope you like this story. You will understand why I titled my story, "Green IS the color of my eyes" in the later chapters….hehehehe…I hope you like it… Send reviews!

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"**Green IS the color of my eyes"**

**By Tsubame Ongaku**

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Summary: Athrun's only job was to watch and protect Cagalli, especially from herself. But this feisty princess was not about to let him tie her down. He didn't like it when men talk to her, look at her and he sure doesn't like it when they even touch her…XD

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Chapter 1: Everything I do is to protect you" 

"Will you just listen to me for once, Cagalli!"

"I will listen to you only when you have something to say that is actually worthwhile to listen," the blonde retorted. "I am not wearing a stupid dress to a stupid ball because I have more important things to do!"

Athrun was burning up. The blue-haired coordinator and the blonde princess had been fighting all morning and she had a lunch appointment with the Kira, her brother and now her Head of Security in…thirty minutes. He needed to wrap up this argument by then…

Arguing with Cagalli in her office was an almost everyday occurrence, so everyone in the Attha Home never gave it even a second thought. Sometimes when not in the office they argue in the car, in a board of directors meeting even and anywhere actually when they were together…

They don't know how it happened. Two years before they got along just fine and fought only occasionally. All that changed after the second war…but Athrun loved her even more…

"Cagalli, you are just too stubborn for your own good!" Athrun yelled. "This is a formal dress party! You can't just go there in you usual Representative uniform!"

Cagalli frowned deeper. "Oh, yeah? I can and I will!" she raised her chin defiantly, daring him to oppose her.

Athrun had always prided himself to be a very calm, composed and patient man. That disappears almost always entirely when Cagalli was concerned.

Cagalli Yula Attha, the feisty ex-princess and now Head Representative of Orb was a force to be reckoned with. Sometimes he felt that fighting with fifty mobile suits was a piece of cake compared to fighting with Cagalli.

It had always been difficult for him to say no to her. When she looked at him in a certain way with those beautiful amber eyes, he couldn't. But this time it was different. It was a ball dedicated to the memory of those who had died in the Bloody Valentine Tragedy. This meant a lot to him…it was for his mother…

Instead of yelling, he decided to use her greatest weakness…her compassion. Athrun slid his hand through her hair, looked deeply into her eyesand took a deep breath. "This is a ball dedicated to my mom and all those who died with her….please…just this once Cagalli. Even though she will never be there to see you, please do it for her. Let her see what a beautiful woman I planned to marry…"

It worked…

The sad and pitiful look was probably her undoing...

Athrun watched as her cheeks changed into a deep shade of red and then different emotions splayed on her face like sympathy, regret, frustration and anger. Even before she said it, he knew he'd won. He already could feel her surrendering.

She groaned. "Fine! But just this once and…I'm doing this for your mother..." she folded her arms. "Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes," he replied triumphantly which annoyed Cagalli... a lot…"The ball is tomorrow night. It starts at seven. Can you be ready by then?"

She nodded grumpily. She was going to get him for this. She hated dresses as mush as she hated pink and laces…he was going to get it when it is over…

"Go ready the car. I don't need to tell you that I have to meet Kira in a few minutes," she said as she walked behind her desk and began shuffling and arranging papers. "I'll be right down."

Athrun nodded and turned to make his exit.

"Oh, and Athrun?"

"Yeah?'

"Don't ever ask me to wear a dress again. Otherwise, it might be you who will end up wearing a dress!"

He chuckled. He knew that she was somewhat serious about her threat and she might actually carry it out…

He didn't reply. Instead, he stepped out of the room andhe closed the door securely behind him…

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Surprisingly, Cagalli was silent during the drive to the orphanage where Kira and Lacus lived with some orphans from the result of the war. He couldn't understand her sudden change. 

She kept distance from him that was for sure. She huddled herself in one end of the limousine opposite from him.

They usually fought and argue all the way to the destination. He would rather die than admit it but he always looked forward to those fights.

In each argument they've gone through, nobody can say who the victor might be. Sure Athrun had a great advantage due to his coordinator intelligence. But Cagalli herself had sharp wit and an even sharper tongue. Sometimes they argue over the most trifling matters like Chocolate VS Vanilla (undecided); Pizza VS Burger (tied); who was the better pilot? Athrun VS Kira (undecided); Who had the better mobile suit? Athrun (Justice) VS Cagalli (Strike Rouge) and who was the better twin? Kira (Cagalli said her liitle brother was better than her) VS Cagalli (Athrun – he put up a good fight but subconsciously…he was being biased) arguments like those is kind of entertaining to watch. Practically every debate finished undecided or tied.

"Princess, what's wrong? Cat got your tongue? Or did you leave your thinking cap back at the desk?" He said trying to provoke her to anger. He'd rather have her hitting and shouting than this silent. It was as if another being had all together occupied her body. She hated being called, "princess." She always insisted that she be called by her real name, "Cagalli."

Athrun only called her "princess" in those times she annoyed him, which happened to be almost……every day…

She frowned but said nothing and continued to stare out the window. Something was wrong…Cagalli is NEVER this silent unless something bothered her. Athrun know her too well. "Cagalli what's wrong?"

"Nothing," I can hear her faintly mumble.

"Princess I know you. Spit it out," he said grabbing her arm.

She did spit it out…literally. Athrun was shocked. Cagalli never does something like that. She actually spittedat him on the face. Athrun could feel her saliva running down his cheek. He didn't wipe it but looked at her with new surprise and new found respect. she shoed no fear...

"I said nothing, okay! Do me a favor and leave me alone."

"I cannot do that. My job is to follow you and keep you safe."

"I can take care of myself! Did you forget that I know how to fight?"

"Princess, for crying out loud. I'm trying to keep you safe from yourself."

Her frown deepened. She folded her arms on her chest. "What? Are you afraid that I might kill myself?"

Athrun cocked one eyebrow. "Truthfully? Yes. You've already done in more than one occasion." His expression then changed again. It became softer and the look of concern was obvious. "Cagalli, you know that everything I do is to protect you…"

The frown that creased Cagalli's lovely face disappeared almost instantly. She knew that and she knew that all too well. He's doing a great job of it too because though she will never admit it to him, nobody ever made feel more safe than Athrun. Not even Kisaka. Or Kira, her brother. "Athrun, I…I know that…"

He moved towards her slowly then gently took her small hand in his and raised it to his cheek, his eyes never leaving hers. "Princess, you're the only one left that puts meaning into my life. "

She froze after hearing that. There was such sadness in his voice. There was something different about him that day. They always talked but…never this…intimate…

"Is there…is there something wrong, Athrun?" she whispered almost breathlessly.

His eyes widened and then he blushed, finally realizing how he had sounded. He tore his eyes away from hers. Those eyes of hers are just too distracting for his own good. He couldn't even think straight. Why didn't he stop to think before saying something as crazy as that. "No…nothing at all, I'm just being emotional especially since tomorrow is my mom's death anniversary and all."

"Oh, I see," and she could. She missed her father desperately too. The man who was willing to die for his people. She had loved her father. True he was not her real father but he was more of a father to her than Ulen Hibiki was. She never even knew Ulen Hibiki.

Though Athrun had let go of her hand, Cagalli never removed her hand from his cheek. Instead she gently rubbed her fingers against the smooth skin of his face.

"Athrun."

"Hmmm?" he asked. His eyes not meeting hers.

"I…I changed my mind…" she said, wrapping her arms around him. "Tomorrow night…I…I will be wearing that dress…for you too…"

Athrun smiled. He wanted to hear that. "Thank you.. This means a lot to me, Cagalli."

They held each other for who knows how long but before they knew it. They arrived at the orphanage. Kira was already waiting for them outside the home, waving at them. Lacus was beside him smiling and looking as fragile and sweet as ever.

"We're here," Cagalli said, finally letting go.

"Yes, I can see them."

"One last thing before we go in, Athrun."

"What's that?"

"My condition still stands though. This is only a onetime thing. Never expect me to wear a dress…EVER again! Or else I might start shopping for dresses for YOU to wear."

_**To be continued…**_

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**Tsubame**: Instead of procrastinating I decided to make oneshots or short chaptered stories in the meantime instead…I hope this story meets your approval guys…sigh…I miss writing… 

Honest opinion, did I improve or not? I feel like I've lost my touch or sucked due to the three months of absence. By the way, my computer is still dead… :(

"**Double Identities; Chap. 3" –** will be posted I don't know when but I promise it will be. Bad computer….Grrr….


	2. Chapter 2

**Tsubame**: Hey there, everybody! This is another chapter of my fic! Hooray! Just want to let you know for those who send reviews to me. I reply via email so if you sent a review please check your emails. You'll find it there! XD

You're talking to a sloth but this once I will reply on this chapter, just in case you don't open emails…

**Cottongreentea**: Cagalli doesn't like being told what to do and she felt like she had been tricked into agreeing to wear that dress. I know that was way out of Cagalli's league but I just wanted to emphasize how much Athrun loved her…hehehehe… I'm a softie. The new found respect thing? That was because strong men from the military wouldn't dare to do that but a "little" girl like Cagalli did… XD

Craze Izumi: Knowing Cagalli, she might actually wear pants in her own wedding…maybe Athrun will be the one in the dress if she asked "nicely" enough…hmmm…I'll think about it… XD

**KiraTatashi**: I really appreciate that you like it. I never expected my fics to be anything but the average everyday fics. I thank you for the complement. By the way, I read your "Love is thicker than blood" and I liked it! good luck with your writing! And update soon! I want you to finish it! hehehehe…

**ANONYMOUS-gsd: **Thank you. I'm glad you think so! This will probably be done before Christmas, then consider it an early Christmas present to all reviewers!

**MxC** –the show- rocks my socks: you're hyper! Don't worry I get hyper all the time especially when I eat too much chocolate! IT'S GOOD TO KNOW YOU LIKE IT! and it's also good to know that you've read double identities. I miss that story but computer is still DEAD! AHHHHH!

**For everyone:** Don't worry I'll upload soon! At least after exams…

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**Disclaimer**: I forgot to mention in the last chapter! I DO NOT OWN GUNDAM SEED OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS! Just want to make that clear….hehehehehe….thanks for the reviews….

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Chapter 2: "Talk"

The meeting between Kira and Cagalli took longer than expected…it took about two hours. They discussed about the Attha Manse security. Kira wanted to add more security, while Cagalli's had enough of it…

"I don't need you to turn my home into a PRISON!"

"The software in your mainframe is too weak! So weak in fact that it only took me a matter of seconds to hack into."

"You hacked into the security system?" Cagalli's eyes widen in surprise. "How dare you…".

"I did it to test it!" he defended himself. "I want to the mainframe to be at least strong enough that even I can't hack into."

"Kira, that's the most egotistical thing I've ever heard! And stop yelling at me!"

"You started it! Did you know that an assassin could easily hack into the mainframe, disable it, kill you and leave no leads!"

"You're being paranoid!"

"Am not!

"Are too!"

"Am not! Cagalli, I know what I'm doing!"

"Are too! Kira, I don't want to feel trapped in my own home!"

Athrun groaned. The twins were at it again. They had been arguing about it since they arrived. The meeting was supposed to only take thirty minutes because Cagalli had other engagements for the afternoon. Unfortunately, Athrun had to cancel all of them for her because she refused to leave and let her "little" brother win. Both of them were pretty stubborn and Athrun had a feeling that neither would surrender very easily. Both of them won't give up until they've had their way…

Personally, he had to agree with Kira. They really should increase security but not to keep anything out but to keep the princess in and out of trouble…

"More tea?" Lacus asked him. She was smiling sweetly, obviously amused by the two siblings bickering. She held up to him a beautiful porcelain teapot. It was set and a wedding gift from Cagalli and Athrun a year ago. Kira and Lacus had been married for a year and Lacus was now proudly five weeks pregnant…

Athrun returned her smile but shook his head. "No thanks, Lacus." He showed her his cup, which was still half full. "As you can see, I still have enough."

The four of them were on the patio and drinking tea. As always, Lacus acted as the perfect hostess. She had grown used to the two squabbling. Kira was overprotective to the people he cared about. She should know. The moment he found out that she was pregnant, he doubled the security around her.

She felt trapped sometimes but she knew it was because he loved her and the child she now carried.

Lacus Clyne, the beautiful songstress of the PLANTS with her long pink hair, innocently sweet purple eyes, fresh beauty and matched with an angel's voice had bewitched the people of both the PLANTS and ORB. The funny thing was that she used to be Athrun's fiancée but then due to some circumstances it was broken, she fell in love with Kira and Kira fell in love with her. They were happy now, that they're together and so deeply in love

"Kira, would you like some more tea?" she called out to her husband.

Kira tore away his angry gaze to look at his wife. His expression became soft and smiled faintly to her. "No, thank you, dear. I just need to finish this…"

"I am NOT increasing security and that is final!" the blonde twin yelled.

Kira's frown creases his face. "I am your head of security! Kisaka gave me this job to keep you out of trouble and I'm trying to do that except you are being a stubborn brat!"

They began to bicker again. Athrun groaned. At this rate, Cagalli will be late for her early dinner with the American Senator…

….

Oh, well. Cagalli will enjoy herself more with her brother than a old, broken down senator…

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Another two hours later, Kira and Athrun were finally left alone to talk. Cagalli was with Lacus. Lacus was going to show her the baby's room. She wanted Cagalli to help her decorate it into a nursery. After a lot of persuasion the two girls finally left, leaving KIra and Athrun on the patio.

They were not sipping tea anymore. It was time for business for these two busybodies…

Kira had his laptop opened on the table and was typing away, while Athrun was checking out Cagalli's day calendar and deleting every engagement for the day. For today, Cagalli was going to rest, whether she likes it or not...He didn't delete one though. She had an appointment at Lizette's boutique in an hour. She needed a dress for tomorrow.

She was so going to hate him for that…

"Hey, Athrun," Kira said, never taking his eyes away from his laptop computer.

"Yeah?"

"You've done well with my sister."

Athrun surprised, looked up and stared at his bestfriend. "Huh? What made you say that?"

Kira grinned and shook his head as if he was talking to a clueless boy. "Didn't you notice?" he asked. He then stopped typing long enough to say, "Cagalli is back to her feisty, uncontrollable and stubborn self again. Two years ago during the second war, that part of her disappeared. Whatever you did, I want to thank you. It's good to have her back that way no matter how annoying she can be."

Athrun chuckled lightly and shrugged his shoulders. "That timid blonde mouse before was so not her…I love her this way." He then grew serious, "but you know what? I'd love her any way I can get her, so it doesn't really matter."

"Which brings me the next thing I wanted to know," Kira said, returning his attention back to his computer. "Are you two engaged?"

The blue-haired coordinator sighed. "Yes but not officially yet. There are so many things to do….so little time."

"I see what you mean…" the concerned Kira nodded. "It has been a long time since I have last seen her take a vacation just to relax."

"I've been trying to coax her to take a vacation for months. I've even tried to schedule her one but it's been hard. She has so many appointments sometimes she only gets three hours of sleep per day."

This time Kira finally closed his laptop shut. "Why is she working so hard, Athrun? What for? Is it for her people? Doesn't she realize that Orb can take care of itself for at least a few days?"

Athrun shook his head lightly. He was frowning." Apparently not, she just refuses to take a vacation."

Kira rubbed his temples. It was a lot of work taking care of a person like Cagalli. "It is times like these that I miss that timid little mouse…"

"Me too, Kira. Me to…"

* * *

"Lizette's?" Cagalli demanded, staring at him open mouthed. "You cancelled all my appointments and meetings but an appointment to a dress shop!"

Athrun shrugged and never missed a beat. "You need a dress for tomorrow…"

"A dress shop!"

"Do we have to fight over everything?"

"But, Athrun, a dress shop!" she said, glaring coldly at him." I should kill you…"

Athrun pretended to yawn and grinned. "You're welcome to try of course."

"Are you baiting me, Mr. Dino?" she asked with clenched teeth. Privately, Cagalli still calls her Athrun but publicly he was still Alex Dino, Cagalli Yula Attha's bodyguard and confidant. Cagalli didn't usually call him by that name when they were just alone together. She must be really angry…

"That depends…is it working?"

"Why you---" she started and began beating at his chest. "I aught to---"

Athrun grabbed her by both her arms and pinned them to her sides. Laughter was evident in his eyes. "You were saying?"

Cagalli suddenly blushed. She had just realized how close they were. She looked into his eyes that were so, so green that she could drown in them.

She looked away and turned even redder. Why does he make her feel this way?

Athrun noticed that she was trying to avoid looking at him in the eye. He was partly relieved because staring at her like that made him want to kiss her. It didn't matter to him that they were on a public street on the way to the dress shop. The limousine was sent on an errand for Athrun and he thought that they could use a little exercise.

"Cagalli, come with me," he whispered quite softly.

"No way!" she began to pull her arms away. If he was going to take her to the dressmakers, she was NEVER going to go peacefully.

He sighed. "Cagalli, unless you want to get kissed on a public street I suggest you follow," he stopped. "Do you want to get kissed on a public street? I'll gladly comply, you know."

She blushed even more. "N…n…no. I'll follow."

Athrun grinned and led her to an alley and led her through a series of twists and turnes. They arrived to a dead end which happened to have a dumpster filled with three weeks of trash. This was not a girl's ideal date spot. Where was the flowers, candlelight or presents?

Did Athrun just lose his romantic touch?

Cagalli took one look at the full dumpster and frowned. "Well, this is romantic…she" she said sarcastically. "A nice rendezvous by a dump----"

She never got to finish her sentence. He cupped her face with his fingers and pulled her face up to his, meeting her lips with his and silencing her from saying anything else...

Cagalli was seeing stars…

Maybe…a little rendezvous behind a dumpster is not so bad after all…

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**Tsubame**: Thanks to all those people who reviewed. If you have anything else to say, feel free to send me a message. I don't mind. Hehehehehe…. What do you think of the second chapter? I thought it was….passable….i can still make it better though…care to comment?

If you're wondering why I named it, "Green is the color of my eyes" you'll know soon. By the way, I've got exams starting next week so I won't be able to update for two weeks to study and concentrate. Wish me luck!

See yah!


	3. Chapter 3

**Tsubame:** I feel so touched by all my reviewers! You guys are so sweet! Thank you for wishing me luck on my exams! i don't know how I did but I hope I did ok…"sigh." Anyway, thank you for taking time to read my fic and reviewing. It is really appreciated...

I got more reviews than I first expected…yes, I never expected to get 28 reviews! I didn't even expect to get more than twenty but I hoped… to all you nice reviewers, thank you. You don't know how much your support means to me!

By the way, guys? Bad news…well at least for me. i have bad luck with computers…our internet back at home is down. The good think is that I can still write…"sigh"

WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN TO ME! T-T

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**Chapter 3: Stirs Jealousy**

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"No…the skirt is too low."

"It does not fit right."

"That's an ugly color for your complexion…"

"How can she walk in that?"

"You've got to be kidding…"

Cagalli was losing her patience with this annoying woman. She was Lizette, the shop owner. Athrun had asked her to simply help her find a dress but the shop owner said she refused to let her leave without getting the BEST of _Madame Lizette_. She's been trying on dresses for three hours now. She had lost count how many dresses she'd tried on. There was always something wrong with it. Too high, too low, too dark, too light, not enough color, too much color and a lot more to mention. She was sick of hearing it! Reeeaaalllyyy…sick of it…

Athrun was just outside the shop and on the phone with Kira. Cagalli was willing to bet that they were talking about doubling security.

The blonde rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Great…" she thought sarcastically. "Two paranoid dingbats to make my life more miserable…I mean…_secured._"

"Psssttt…calm down, Cagalli," the pretty brunette behind her whispered. Miriallia Haww was there. She was there to buy a dress for the event too. Miri could see all too well that that the princess was almost at her breaking point. The brunette was helping her fix her hair in a French twist, while Cagalli was grinding her teeth and trying to control her wavering patience.

"Calm down?" she asked in a voice so low that you could barely hear. "Miri, that is like asking me to bring you the moon."

"But…"

"If she…" she pointed at the plump, middle-aged woman waiting for them outside the dressing room. "Doesn't make up her mind soon…I swear I'll do something drastic…"

Miri sighed. Knowing Cagalli, by drastic she meant buying this whole store and firing the owner…or worse. She shivered at the thought. Somehow Miri doesn't like the thought of Cagalli angry

"I can't believe that we actually took this long JUST to buy on stinking dress!" she spat out. "What NORMAL person does?"

"Come on, Cagalli…it's just for tomorrow, right?"

"Yes. But I still don't like it," she growled.

"Cagalli, think about Athrun…" she encouraged her.

"Believe me, Miri, I am…and I'm thinking about killing him right now…and I'm also thinking of a lot of nice different ways to kill him." Her eyes fired. "How do you think will he feel about a guillotine?"

* * *

"I recently developed a system that is virtually impenetrable," Kira said. As Cagalli had thought, the two boys were talking about the security. "I'll show it to you maybe tomorrow."

"Hmmm…sounds good," Athrun replied nonchalantly. He was leaning against the shop wall and staring at the ground in deep concentration.

"Athrun? Are you alright" Kira asked. "You don't sound like yourself."

"Huh? Oh, nothing. I'm just a bit distracted."

"Distracted? Of what?"

"Kira, would we be doing the right thing?" Athrun told him. "I mean…Cagalli doesn't like it…and you know what she's like when she's angry."

Kira groaned. "I know it only all too well, Athrun."

"Well, would we be doing the right thing?" he repeated.

"Athrun, aside from knowing what my sister is like when angry, I also know that my bratty sister doesn't know what is best for her."

"You make her sound like she's your younger sister and you're her keeper…"

"I sometimes that way. She seems so much younger than me…"

"But…"

"I know what you're thinking. Don't get me wrong, I love my sister better this way I told you that remember? Although she is as feisty and uncontrollable as fire, she is also courageous, virtuous and always fights for justice. The Cagalli I knew."

"This is the also the Cagalli I fell in love with…" Athrun mumbled.

"Huh? Athrun, did you say something?"

"Ahhh…no," he replied frantically, blushing with embarrassment. He felt so relieved that Kira couldn't see him at that moment. "I was just talking to myself."

"Oh, then I guess you better go. Where are you two anyway?"

"Huh? At the dress shop. Why?"

"Mmmm…how long have you been there?"

"Three hours…"

The line became silent.

"Hello? Kira? Still there?

"Athrun…"

"Yeah?"

"I suggest you run for cover…"

Suddenly, there was a horrific scream from inside the shop. "ALEX DINO! GET IN HERE! NOW!"

"Got to go?" Kira teased. Even through the phone, he knew his sister's scream anywhere.

"Uh, huh…" his sweat dropped. "I think I'm in big trouble."

"You think?" Kira replied, laughing.

* * *

The next day, Cagalli was still not talking to him. She had finally blown up after the fifty-ninth dress according to Mirialla. If that was the case, he couldn't blame her for being angry. If he had known at the thirtieth, he would have suggested in going to another shop or something. In the end, they went to another shop owned by Mirialla's close friend, Minerva. The shop was virtually new since Miri's friend was just starting her business.

Cagalli was amused but not surprised that the shop's name was _"Minerva."_

Athrun didn't know much about fashion but even he could tell that the designer had to be talented. There were dresse of all colors and sizes and for different occasions. There was also something homey about the shop. She didn't feel agitated as she did in the other shop. But then he received an urgent phone call from Kisaka asking him to go to the Orb base immediately. He left Cagalli in Mirialla and her fiend's care. He was gone for two hours and when he returned, Minerva was already packing the dress into a box. The girls were giggling and laughing. It was odd since Cagalli looked like she actually enjoyed it…she hates dress shopping.

She was coaxing Minerva to take the money she was holding but Minerva shook her head.

"I can give it to you for free. Just having the princess wear it is good advertising for the shop. I insist you take it and wear it with pride tomorrow. You hold the future of my little shop in your hands…" she sighed dramatically.

The blonde princess giggled. "Overacting as usual…"

He looked at his watch. It was late…almost 10pm. They have to leave now. They had another busy day tomorrow.

"Are you ready to go, Cagalli?" he asked. He smiled warmly and hoped against hope that Cagalli had forgiven him…

No such luck…

When she saw him, she frowned, looked away and nodded faintly. Clearly…she was still a bit angry.

She turned towards her friends and smiled for them. "I got to go, guys. It's getting late and I've got a full schedule of appointments tomorrow."

They nodded with understanding. She kissed their cheeks and offered them a ride home since it was so late. They declined. Miri was going home with Minerva and she had brought her own car. "I'll see you tomorrow night then, Miri?"

She nodded. Then Athrun and her left the shop. Athrun opened the limousine's door for her. It just got back from its errand. She got in but avoided his gaze and didn't even say thank you.

"Mr. Dino, get in," she said. There was command there and a lot of contained anger.

He did and they were completely silent on the way home.

Athrun sighed at the memory. She was really angry at him now…but he knew she would probably calm down in a few days. He was just relieved that she didn't change her mind about wearing the dress but Cagalli never went back on her word so he really had nothing to worry about.

They were again at her office as usual but the usual bickering was gone. She was in no mood to tangle words with Athrun that morning. He tried to tease her and annoy her. He hated the silent treatment.

"Cagalli…"

"Ms. Attha, please," she snapped.

He straightened. "Yes, I mean, Ms. Attha. You have an appointment for brunch with a US senator, a Mr. Andrew Jordan Collins in half an hour."

"Thank you, Mr. Dino. That is all and I will meet you downstairs in a few minutes after I take care of a few things."

Athrun bowed and proceeded to leave. He knew better than to oppose to Cagalli with her anger that moment.

He'll le her blow off some steam for a few days and all will be fine.

Like she said, she was down in a few minutes. The car was already brought at front. The whole journey, they behaved like strangers…not talking…not looking…they TRIED to avoid noticing each other's presence. But Cagalli was only all too well aware of Athrun's presence. For her, it was impossible not to. She loved him…she never told him that true…but he'd told her so many times already.

She felt like a coward sometimes. Athrun always told her that he loved her bravery, yet saying three words sent a chill of fear down her spine. She would sometime felt that she would rather swim in shark infested waters than tell him. She was scared.

She didn't feel scared at that moment. On the contrary, she felt grumpy. Five hours…she wasted five hours of her time looking for a dress she was just going to wear for one night, when she could have just done something more useful like read through documents and stuff.

She groaned to herself. "Remind me again why I love him?"

"Did you say something, Cagalli?"

"No, Mr. Dino. No problem at all."

* * *

The place the US senator rented for his short stay in Orb was not surprisingly a mansion. Athrun noticed that a lot of political figures preferred to live in big, empty, desolate mansions…well maybe except Cagalli. Cagalli will go crazy in complete solitude and she hated mansions actually. Give her the great outdoors any day…

"Is this place always this quiet?" Cagalli asked the old butler.

When they had arrived at the residence, this small, old man greeted them. He bowed to her with respect and asked them to follow him. He will lead them to his master.

They did and though Cagalli was still a…little…bit angry with Athrun, she held his hand with dear life. She was nervous that was for sure. Usually, it was the old politicians are the hardest to negotiate. They are so old fashioned that they don't trust women or worse think that she's a spoiled airhead blonde. She hated that…

Cagalli's nervousness and fear didn't show on her lovely face yet Athun could see it in her eyes. This wasn't the first time she had a meeting with an important man. She actually has one everyday but she can't help feel nervous before the actual meeting but that never stopped her from succeeding. The feeling of victory after every successful negotiation is fun for her.

Athrun smiled and squeezed her hand reassuringly. "You'll do great," he whispered. "You always do." Then kissed her lightly on the cheek.

Instead of replying, she nodded and squeezed his hand even tighter. She was ready. She always was as long as Athrun was there. As angry as she was at him at that moment he was her life support. She could always believe as long as he was there…beside her…holding her hand and reassuring her that everything will be fine…

She ALWAYS believed him.

The butler led them to a huge door and said that this was his master's office.

Slowly, he opened the gigantic doors of the office. By the window, Cagalli could see somebody there. She souldn't see his face though because he had his back turned.

The pair entered but the butler stayed outside and closed the doors. Leaving them alone with the US senator.

Cagalli was confused. Weren't they supposed to have brunch? She cleared her throat and said. "Mr. Collins, I thank you for inviting me to your…umm…nice estate."

At her voice, the man turned around.

Cagalli couldn't hide her gasp.

"Ahfmed!" she screamed. Unexpectedly, she ran to him and hugged him fiercely laughing and crying at the same time. "Ahfmed! You're alive! Does Kisaka know? Why didn't you tell me?"

The man with Ahfmed's dark brown hair and Ahfmed's kind blue eyes, looked at her with the mixture of confusion and fascination. He smiled but said nothing.

"I thought you were dead!" she pulled away and slapped him VERY hard. "You idiot, you made me believe you were dead! I was so…sad!"

Athrun was still by the door watching the two with unhidden anger…his eyes flashed a dangerous green. It was frightening to look at because it screamed murder…

Who was this guy and why does Cagalli seem to know him?

Finally the man spoke, he didn't seem to mind that Cagalli slapped him. If it were possible, his smile became wider. "Ms. Attha, I believe you've made a big mistake."

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Ms. Attha, My name is Andy Collins, I'm sorry but I'm not the Ahfmed you speak of."

Cagalli blinked twice, trying to absorb what he had said. "Collins? Oh, no. Don't tell me you're the senator's son!"

He laughed. "All right, I won't."

She sighed with relief. "Thank you…" she was in big trouble if he was the senator's kid.

"Because I am the senator!"

Cagalli fainted…

* * *

"Let her lie down here," the senator said pointing to the sofa available in his office. Before Cagalli even hit the floor, Athrun was able to catch her. He carried her in his arms as if she weighed nothing more than a feather.

Athrun nodded and set her down. Placing her head on his lap. What had Cagalli gotten herself into this time?

Athrun looked up to find the senator staring at Cagalli. Athrun didn't like it one bit. "What are you looking at?"

He shook his head. "Nothing, I was just thinking of how fascinating she is."

"Tse…you don't have to tell me that…"

"Do you think…"

"What?"

"Do you think she'll mind going to the dance tonight with me?"

Athrun frowned. He didn't like where this was going. He didn't like it at all…"No, she won't mind…"

Andy's eyes brightened. "Really?"

Athrun shook his head. "No…she won't…but I will…"

It was Andy's turn to frown now. "What?"

Athrun took Cagalli's hand and showed him the ring that he'd given Cagalli so many years ago. "Don't get any ideas…because she's already taken…"

* * *

**Tsubame**: Phew! I finally finished it! Hurray! I didn't expect to finish it for at least another week! I hope you like this chapter! This was only supposed to be a 3-part story but…it just changed…now that it is vacation time my imagination is running on overtime! If you are wondering who the heck Andy Collins is, he's just a Ahfmed look-alike. I just wanted to make Cagalli funny. Hehehehe…

**Andy Collins:**

The idea of this came to me suddenly. I adapted it from a friend. I hope she won't mind. Yes, she is a girl. I said I "adapted" the name. This does not mean that this is really her name. If you're reading this, you know who you are…

HEY! I want to slap a senator too! (and not get into trouble for it…hehehehe…)


	4. Chapter 4

**Tsubame**: Hey, everybody in the world! Don't worry…Andy Collins in my story is actually harmless and very nice…so don't hate him…I don't know why I created him…maybe it's because I liked Ahfmed in the series and he died so soon…XD

Turning him and Athrun into rivals would be too predictable, right? I don't like predictability…thank you steshin for teaching me the lesson of cliches... **:3**

By the way, when I named the designer, Minerva, I was not thinking about the Minerva crew, okay? It was the only name I could think of at that moment that fit the Gundam Seed world…just wanted to make that clear. I have not seen destiny yet, so let's just say it is coincidence…

Meer-haters, please don't continue reading. I cannot bring myself to bash Meer Campbell in this story. I know what happened to her and I don't hate her. I don't bash characters very much…well… maybe except for Yuuna. But he's different…HE'S AN IDIOT!

Merry Christmas by the way, consider this my Christmas gift to all of you! I hope you like it!

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**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gundam Seed or Destiny or the characters. I never ever said I did and I never will…but I like to write…they can't sue me for that, right?

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**Chapter 4: "Emeralds"**

Cagalli was nervously pacing back and forth and gently biting her nails. She was finally in her office and safe from the embarrassment she caused herself two hours before.

She was so embarrassed in fact that the two was never able to continue their brunch. Maybe partly the reason was she was still unconscious. Athrun had brought her home. She didn't know what happened while she was unconscious but Athrun didn't look too happy when she was conscious…

She couldn't believe that she actually SLAPPED the senator! She had the gall to do that!

She felt like screaming at that moment.

"Cagalli, calm down," she said to herself. "There was a perfectly understandable reason why you slapped him."

Her mind wondered back to the first war. Ahfmed was her friend and companion. Even then, she knew he had feelings for her but she could never return them. She remembered how she was then…a spoiled princess…who longed to be free…she didn't want to be tied down by anybody. She didn't love Ahfmed that way…but she felt horrible when he died. He was so young…too young to die that way…

She remembered their time together in the desert, their laughs and conversations…he was so wonderful to be around with…

"So why couldn't I have fallen in love with him?" she asked herself.

"Talking to yourself again I see," a voice behind her said.

She whirled around in surprise. She was relieved to see Athrun there. "Oh, Athrun. It's just you. You scared me."

Athrun, who was not at all happy to begin with frowned. "Just me? Who were you expecting? Your senator?"

"My what!" she screamed. "Athrun, what's wrong with you? What in the world made you think that?"

He shrugged and yawned, pretending to be bored. "I don't know maybe it is the fact that you THREW your arms around the guy…"

"Threw…my…" she ground out. "That was a mistake! I thought he was somebody else! You can't blame me for that!"

"Whatever…"

"Of all the…Athrun, if this sudden change in behavior has anything to do with my SLAPPING the senator, I already said that I'm sorry!"

He shrugged again and sat on a sofa by her. "Actually, I didn't mind that you slapped him."

She stared at him unblinking. "Huh? Are you okay? Usually, you would be giving me a lecture about protocol now."

He looked away because she was right. By this time, he would usually be scolding her for her conduct. Instead, he told her that he didn't mind? What's going here?

He remained silent for a moment staring out the opened window at nothing in particular but he admired the beautiful sunshine and birds singing their melodies…

"Athrun?"

He finally found his courage. He looked up and peered into her clear amber eyes. Those eyes were her asset but his curse. Why? Why couldn't he think straight, whenever she looked at him that way?

There was worry in her eyes. This softened him, it cheered him up a bit to see her worried about him. Sometimes, she looked at him as if she wanted him dead and sometimes she did. He knew she loved him. That was one of the things he loved about her eyes. He could see as clearly as day that she loved him.

How could he not see it?

She was worried about him….and he…he was jealous…he admitted. But he should know better that she was exclusively his…his princess…his goddess of victory…his precious rose…his savior…

How could he have ever doubted her?

"Cagalli," he finally said. "Who…who's Ahfmed?"

"Oh," she replied, barely a whisper. "He…he was a friend of mine…but he…he died during the first war."

Athrun saw that she was near tears. So that was it. Mr. Collins had reminded her of a friend. He thought about it. It made sense that she reacted like that, she missed a friend that she thought had died.

Ahfmed wasn't an ex-boyfriend and he felt relieved yet he sympathize her at the same time. It was never easy to lose a friend. He recalled how he felt when he thought Kira had died.

But he still felt a little steamed. Mr. Andrew Jordan Collins was not the old and broken down senator he had first expected but a young and handsome man, that alone made him want to kill him.

Okay…maybe he DID feel a little threatened, when he knew he shouldn't.

He stood up and pulled her into his arms. "I love you, Cagalli…"

Again…she didn't reply. But for Athrun, she really didn't need to. No words were needed as she returned her embrace.

"Take your time, Cagalli," he thought. "You don't have to say it now…but…"

He inhaled her scent and closed his eyes in bliss…

"…I...I'll be waiting…"

* * *

She was taking too long…

It was already six. The party starts in an hour…

"Miri, how long does it take to put on a dress?" he asked, exasperated.

She rolled her eyes. "Athrun, we don't just worry about the dress you know…there is the hair, the make-up, the right shoes…the works. Make-up sometimes takes up to two- three hours."

Cagalli was still upstars in her chambers with Minerva, who was also nice enough to do her make-up. Miri, who did her own make-up was done in more or less three hours but Cagalli had been cooped up in her room for more that five hours, causing again for Athrun to cancel most of her appointments.

She was canceling more and more appointments lately. Athrun didn't know whether to laugh and fell relieved or worried. He was relieved that she was making time for herself now but worried because it was part of his job to worry. He wasn't worried about what the people she had appointments think but what Cagalli will do after this. She was bound to work two times harder after this was over…

The tanned blonde beside her laughed and jabbed Athrun lightly on the ribs. Dearka Elsman was Mirialla's date for the evening but it took three days of convincing. Miri never makes it easy for Dearka. "You're not afraid of getting stood up are you?"

Athrun frowned at him. No, he was not worried. Cagalli never goes back on her word. She was going to show up even though she hates the idea of a skirt or balls or dancing. Though Cagalli was a gifted dancer, she had four years of training as a child.

"What's in the box, Athrun?" Dearka was pointing to the long, rectangular, velvet case that Athrun was holding in his hand. "It's for Cagalli, isn't it?"

"Oh, this?" he gestured to the box. "Yes, it is a peace offering for the incident yesterday…at the…dress shop…"

Dearka, who was not there, tilted his head to the side, confused. "What? Did I miss something? What happened yesterday?"

Miri ignored her noisy date and began shaking her head. "If you're going to apologize, you're going to have to do better that that…"

"Better than what?" Cagalli's voice came from behind them.

When Athrun had asked her to wear a dress. He didn't know what to expect really. After many years of being her bodyguard, he never really noticed what she looked in a dress…

He was too busy…checking out surveillance, checking to see if the perimeter is secured, checking to see if the guards are doing their job and in short…he was busy doing a lot…

Tonight he had been in for a surprise.

Above the wide twin staircases of the Attha manse stood…Her Highness, Cagalli Yula Attha, widely known as the Princess of Orb and now Head Representative of Orb, praised as the goddess of victory and the desert rose…

There was contempt, suspicions and confusion in her face. Contempt, obviously for being made to wear a dress which she …to put lightly disliked. Suspicions, she suspected that they were talking about her, which they were. Confusion, hat in the world had she done now?

Dressed in a _Minerva_ original, she was able to mix the latest trends and the traditional Orb dress style. It was a dress of pure white and gold. She really did look like a goddess that she was acclaimed for…

She wore only light make-up but it made such a beautiful effect on her already lovely face. I loved her best without makeup on. It made her seem human and not unreachable like the stars. Easy to be with…she is a human being first and a princess second. There was nothing fake or artificial about her…

He remembered Meer…

She was used and made to act and look like Lacus by Dullindal. She had millions of fans but until her dying breath…those fans never saw her as anybody but…Lacus Clyne…not Meer Campbell…

He never hated Meer, I pitied what had happened to her and she earned his respect when she saved Lacus's life.

There is something that bothered him about Meer. Maybe it's just because she's a little…forward and the clothes she wears…

Maybe she did have her own appeal. She did capture the hearts of hundreds of ZAFT soldiers during the war. But he doesn't hate her… he just didn't love her that way...so he decided to stay neutral.

He could tell even then that she wanted him to love her…and he admitted to himself that he probably tried to but why…didn't he love her?

Probably the same reason why he didn't love Lacus… She was his fiancée long ago. They saw each other frequently but I never really saw as more than a friend or maybe a little sister. Funny, right?

Lacus was beautiful. One of the most beautiful people in the PLANTS but he was not easily captured by a pretty face…

If this is true, then why was he so easily enraptured by THIS blonde's pretty face?

Lacus Clyne the jewel of the PLANTS and endearingly called the Pink Princess, is the perfect lady but he fell in love with a tomboy…a very beautiful tomboy though.

He didn't realize that he was staring at her. She looked at him and raised one eyebrow in annoyance. "What are you looking at?"

Athrun shook his head to clear it. He remembered a conversation that he had with Kira not to long ago…

"_Hey, Kira!"_

"_What?" He was busy studying his mansion's blueprints. He had just found out that morning that his wife was pregnant. He was already making plans to double the security…_

"_Have you ever seen your sister in a dress?"_

_Kira was still engrossed but he shrugged his shoulders and replied. "Sure a couple of times."_

_Athrun was looking though the brochure of the latest security gadgets. Kira had asked his to help pick the best ones. He was the only other person aside from Kisaka he trusted with his security._

"_How does she look?"_

_Kira suddenly laughed. "To be honest, before I saw her in that dress, I though she was a boy."_

_Athrun chuckled. He remembered the time when he mistook Cagalli for a boy._

"_Why do you ask, Athrun?"_

_The blue-haired coordinator yawned. "I'm thinking of asking her to wear a dress for the Anniversary ball."_

_Kira shook his head. He abandoned his blueprints for a moment and walked to pat his friend lightly on the shoulder. He was looking at him sympathetically. "Good luck talking her into it…and if you do talk her into it, good luck keeping your head straight."_

"_What in the world did he mean by that?"_

Now he knew. He watched Cagalli gracefully descend the stairs like she had done it a million times before and she probably did being a princess. But she didn't hold the kind of grace that takes years of practice, the thing about Cagalli is that she has natural grace whether she's in her average shirt and cargo pants, Head Representative's uniform or in a $50, 000 dress.

"You look beautiful, Cagalli." he whispered.

She blushed. "Thank you." Not knowing what else to say.

Dearka suddenly socked Athrun on the shoulder, playfully. "Hey, Zala! Your date is hot!"

Miri whacked him with her handbag and hissed him to behave himself.

Athrun coughed to get back her attention. Cagalli was about to shoot all her anger on Dearka for the comment. "Cagalli, I…I want to give you something."

"What is it?" she asked, walking towards him.

As she came closer to him, he took out the velvet case that he had hid behind him.

She smiled, touched by his generosity. "Athrun, you shouldn't have…"

He smiled back. "No. I feel that even this is not enough to compensate for my request. Take it, Your Highness."

She shook her head at him. "There is no need to be so formal with me. It's just me…and you really didn't need to give me a gift."

"I insist…" he had said it with such gentleness, that Cagalli couldn't resist. She took the case from his outstretched hand. Slowly, she released the latch. She gasped.

Inside, surrounded by a cloth of soft silk was a beautiful emerald necklace with a golden chain. It was simply cut but enchanting. It was in the shape of a teardrop. ..

"Athrun, it's beautiful."

He removed the necklace from its case and placed it around her neck. He secured the lock and looked to see his handiwork. The emerald shone brilliantly against her throat. The necklace complemented her white and golden dress to perfection.

"It suits you."

She smiled proudly and admired the tear…Athrun's tear.

The emerald shone like green fire, much like Athrun's eyes when provoked to anger. She should know. She'd provoked him to anger so many times that she never bothered to count.

"It reminds me of his eyes," she thought, staring deeply into those eyes that she always admired. Whenever she will wear it, it will always remind her of him.

"Do you like it?" he asked hopefully.

She gave him a light chuckle. "I love it!"

"The emerald is from one of my mother's jewels" he said, fiddling with the emerald pendant. "My father had given it to her for their anniversary. He boasted that it was one of the infamous Marie Antoinette's jewels."

"Could he prove it?"

Athrun chuckled. "No…"

Cagalli smiled. She didn't really care if it was true or not. She loved the necklace and planned to keep it even if the rumor was true or not.

"I'm willing to say this though…" he was ginning mischievously. "I'm willing to bet that that jewel looks better on you than it ever did with Ms. Antoinette."

She couldn't help blushing again at the complement. She was embarrassed by his teasing and flattery but she would be lying if she said it didn't make her feel good…

They were suddenly interrupted by Dearka's cough. "Well, if you lovebirds are done. Let's get going if we don't want to be late…"

"Oh, wait! One last thing before we leave!"

"What?"

Cagalli walked to Dearka and jabbed him in the stomach with her knee. "That was for calling me hot!"

Dearka sank to the floor clutching his stomach in pain. "Athrun, I am so glad that she's not my girlfriend. How can you stand with her?"

"Dearka Elsman, how many times do I have to tell you to behave!" Miri scolded and whacked the poor guy again with her handbag.

Dearka shouted in pain again. "Then again…how did I fall in love with this banshee?" he grumbled.

_**To be continued…**_

* * *

**Tsubame:** I took a test not too long ago. "Which Gundam Seed character I was?" the first test I took I was Athrun and the second test I took, I was Lacus. You can say that I took the test seriously because some of the thoughts I gave Athrun were mine especially about Meer... I don't mean that I'm in love with Cagalli, okay? I'm not like that… 

I guess this chapter is a bit…serious compare to the other chapters, huh? Hehehehe…is Dearka OOCish? Well, I think so but he is so funny written this way…

Hurray! Our computer is virus-free! Hehehehe…Me happy!


	5. Chapter 5

**Tsubame:** This story is longer than I first expected. Over vacation my imagination DID go on overdrive…OH well! I'm so happy with my reviews and I can't believe so many people like this story…

**Disclaimer**: The usual…I don't own Gundam Seed or Gundam Seed Destiny series or characters…

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**Chapter 5: Angelic Misfit **

**

* * *

**

They arrived at the party on the nick of time.

7:00 on the dot!

It was sort of fashioned like those of the time of the old English. There was somebody at the front door, he took their coats and asked for their names. He was holding a thick list of the names of guests.

"Alex Dino and Princess Cagalli Yula Attha…" Athrun replied.

The man bowed down to show his respect to the Princess then he took his staff and pounded it on the floor to get the other guests attention. "Her Highness, Cagalli Yula Attha of Orb and her escort, Mr. Alex Dino."

Cagalli never did feel comfortable when all eyes were on her. She looked ahead and did not meet anybody's eye. She dug her fingers into Athrun's sleeve but the perfect smile on her face never wavered and neither did his. If it were possible it became bigger, trying to assure her that the worst was almost over…

They made their bows when they reached the bottom of the stairs and the guests returned to their talking and chatting as before… but some…well…lets just say that they don't know how to mind their own business…

Cagalli breathed a sigh of relief. She managed to make her entrance and she didn't trip. Not…that she ever tripped before. It's that she's a firm believer of there's a first time for everything. She's a princess…practically since birth she's been trained for things like these…

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Athrun teased, whispering into her ear. His breath tickled and made her giggle. Some spectators instantly assumed that the couple was sharing a private joke.

"Aren't they sweet?" One said.

"How wonderful it is to be young and in love," another sighed.

But there were also comments like…

"What is the princess doing with a bum like him?"

"She's not that pretty. He could do so much better…"

"Don't tell me they're dating…"

Cagalli and Athrun ignored remarks like these. How are they supposed to help them, right? It never really mattered to them what people think. They've been worrying about what people think since they were very young being children of such famous politicians.

They don't want that anymore…

"We've got quite an audience in our hands…"

She sighed. "Don't remind me…I've noticed." She was feeling nervous…and this is what she hated about these parties… why couldn't they just make an appearance and leave? That's what she usually does…

But then…this is not another one of her usual parties…

She was here with Athrun and she was showing her respects to her the memory of her soon-to-be mother-in-law. Even if it will kill her…she will make Athrun proud of her…

"Ms. Attha! You're here!"

Cagalli turned towards the familiar voice, then her eyes met a familiar pair of eyes. "Afhmed?" she whispered, but only Athrun heard.

He was not happy…not at all…

It wasn't Afhmed. It was Andy and he was smiling and waving at them like he was just a family friend. "Ms. Attha, you have arrived. I'm glad."

Cagalli shook her head to regain from her shock. She tried telling herself over and over again that this…is Andy not Ahfmed…

Ahfemed was gone…but she knew his memory remained.

"Cagalli, you alright?" Athrun asked. He was worried that she became too silent. "Is this guy bothering you? Because believe me I'll only be too happy to redesign his face for you."

She shook her head. "No it's nothing."

Andy couldn't hear their conversation at all because their voices are so low. "Good evening, I'm sorry. Did I interrupt anything?"

"No, not at all." She assured him. She still felt nervous about being around him. Just this morinng she slapped him and here he was talking to her.

Andy smiled genuinely to her. It was a sign that told her not to worry that he held no hard feelings for what happened that morning. "I just wanted to say hi and introduce you to my sister, Annie?"

"You have a sister?"

He nodded. "Annie, come here, Sweetheart."

From behind him, a little girl peeked at her and hid again. Cagalli guessed that she had to be about twelve but very shy. Her blonde hair in two braids, rosy white cheeks and her shining blue eyes staring at the floor shyly, she looked adorable with her blue dress.

"That's odd," Athrun said. "You don't look anything alike."

Andy laughed a hearty laugh and shook his head. "I got my looks from my mother's side of the family and Annie got hers from my dad's." He gave his little sister a soft pat on the head. "My mother's from Saudi Arabia…and that's where I got my dark good looks…"

Athrun gnawed his teeth. He really wants to clobber this guy.

Cagalli gave a small laugh and extended her palm to her. "Come on, Annie. I promise I won't bite."

Annie looked to her brother and back to Cagalli. She stepped forward from her brother's shadow and gave a polite bow. "Good Evening to you, Dear Princess."

She won Cagalli's heart. "What a polite and sweet little girl!" she thought.

Andy gave a light chuckle. "This little angel saw you this morning and told me she liked you."

"This morning? I don't remember meeting her this morning."

"She saw you coming in," he explained. "She liked you right away. She even talked me into buying you a present!" he chuckled. "She's a little brownnoser."

"A present?" Cagalli was shocked. "Afhme….I mean…Andy. You really don't have too…"

Annie gave a sweet little blush. "It's nothing really, Your Highness." She turned towards her brother and made a slight coughing sound.

"Oh," Andy then began digging into his back pocket. "Just consider it a little thank you gift for welcoming me into your beautiful country."

He produced a rather large velvet case. "I hope you like it," his eyes were twinkling. "Annie chose it herself."

She opened the case. Inside was a small fortune in jewels, it was a complete set of jewels of diamonds, a pair of earrings, ring, bracelets and choker. They glistened like stars and so beautiful that the people around them nearly trip themselves trying to get a closer look. Others never bothered to hide their envious looks from them.

"They're beautiful, Andy…Annie," she said politely. "But I can't possibly accept them." She touched Athrun's tear necklace around her neck lightly. It was an unconscious act and she did it protectively as…if she couldn't bear to part with it.

Andy shook his head. "Please do us the honor of accepting this humble gift. Please don't say no. I'm sure it will hurt dear Annie if you do…"

Cagalli was about to speak but then her gaze met Annie's. She really did look like she was about to burst into tears.

She sighed and relented. "Okay, I accept." She smiled at the little girl. "Thank you for the lovely gift, Annie."

Annie smiled proudly but her smile faded when Cagalli just tucked the case into her handbag. "Don't you like it your Highness?"

"Of course I do, Annie."

"Why won't you wear it?"

"Because this necklace…" she replied, fingering the tear. "…means a lot to me…" she turned to Athrun. "And…Mr. Dino…"

Athrun's eyes who were only seconds ago shooting daggers at Andy softened when he heard this. He admitted that he didn't like it that the present Mr. Collins gave Cagalli was times two the size of his present and if he wasn't mistaken, double in price too.

Cagalli knew she had to say that. She knew the look Athrun wore earlier. His eyes turned to the same color as the necklace he gave her and that was definitely a bad sign. She had to say something before he does something he'd regret later…like wrestle a senator.

Athrun already had a history of jealousy fits. He took down a guy just asking for her autograph, a guy trying to steal a kiss lost a couple of his teeth and the list goes on. She really has no idea what HER coordinator was capable of but she wasn't really in the mood to find out.

She might have to bail him from prison or something…

Annie looked disappointed but then the look of disappointment transformed to a cheerful one. "That's okay! You look lovely in anything, Your Highness."

"Call me Cagalli please," she insisted.

"Ms. Cagalli then," she made a bow and began pulling her brother to the dance floor. "See you later, Ms. Cagalli."

"See you," she chuckled. "Sweet, isn't she, Athrun?"

"Mmmmm.."

Athrun's instincts tell him that he should keep an eye on that girl…and his instincts are hardly ever wrong….

* * *

Cagalli was now busy mingling with the other guests. As the princess of Orb, she represented her country and all her people so she didn't want to give the world ideas that she's a snob. 

For two hours, Athrun stayed calmly and patiently by her side. But after two hours of nonstop talking, Atrhun knew Cagalli had to be thirsty. Of course, she didn't show it…

He bowed respectfully. "Cagalli, I'm going to go get something to drink. Would you like one?"

She smiled gratefully and nodded. She then returned to her heated debate with the Prime Minister of China about the "One child" policy…

No winner has been decided yet.

On his way to the refreshments table, he heard crying. He walked towards the sound. It seems that it is coming from the hallway. "Is anybody here?"

"Mr. Dino? Is that you?"

It was Annie. She was holding a pristine white handkerchief and daintily wiping her tears.

"Yes, it's me," he had that worried look on his face again. He didn't like it when women cry. This is one of his weakness. "What's with the tears? Did somebody make you cry?"

She shook her head and looked at him pitifully. She pointed to her ear and sobbed. "I lost my precious earring."

"Your earring?"

She nodded. "It is very precious to me. It was given to me by my big brother for my twelfth birthday."

Athrun being Athrun, couldn't help feeling sorry for her. "Let me help you. Where did you lose it?"

She pointed to the garden outside the terrace. "Over there! My big brother gave me permission to play outside. He knows how bored I feel with these functions."

Athrun didn't like Andy that much…well…maybe he DIDN'T like that Andy at all but he respects that way he cared for his younger sister. "I'll find it for you, Annie. Don't worry."

Little Annie perked up. "Really? Thank you, Mr. Dino!"

"No problem."

He ran towards the direction she pointed. Determined to find the earring…

* * *

"Annie, is everything going as you planned?" 

Annie wiped the last trace of tears from her eyes and nodded. "Sometimes it pays to take acting lessons, right, Natsumi?"

A girl about Annie's age came out from behind the curtains. She brushed off the dust from her pink party dress and patted her long brown hair into place. She was giggling furiously. "It is a good thing he doesn't know that you are an actress in the States, huh?"

Annie Collins is one of the most wanted child stars in the US but Atrhun and Cagalli don't know that, since they are too busy all the time. To watch any of her movies. Natsumi was her bestfriend and co-star in many of her movies. when her brother said they were going to Orb for a while, she begged to let Natsumi come. These two are hardly EVER apart.

Don't get it wrong. Annie is a very, truly, sweet, little girl and (Natsumi is too) but she couldn't stand her brother being alone anymore…he saw instantly that her brother was taken by this lovely blonde princess and didn't want the chance to pass.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Dino," she thought. "I hope you forgive me someday but I just can't stand my brother being alone anymore."

She had watched her brother go in and out of relationships and falling more and more into darkness. Actually, this was the first party her brother had come to in over a year. All because of this intriguing princess.

She saw the first sparks of life in her brother's life in years, since their parents died in the war.

Natsumi folded her arms and stared at the terrace doors. "How long do you think it will take him to realize that it was a trick?"

"Hmmm…I don't know. I estimate about two hours but I hope long enough for my brother and Ms. Cagalli to fall in love."

* * *

**Tsubame:** I really hurried writing this…since I'm a bit late updating. Don't hate Annie, okay? She's a kid and doesn't understand that you can't just make people fall in love like that. What would you have done? 

Anyway, watch out for the other troubles these dynamic duo will think of next…hehehehe…

Poor Athrun…what will these two do next? This is only the beginning…


	6. Chapter 6

**Tsubame:** -sighs dramatically-

I received information that Cagalli and Athrun will never be together and Athrun WILL be with Meyrin….i like Meyrin ok…but…I told you I don't hate characters that often. .ACKKK! But that is a knife through my heart…huhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhu…what is happening to the Anime these days! It's getting more whacked than our computer at home! I believe in artistic freedom though….

-sigh-

Sometimes I HATE artistic freedom…

I said on impulse that I might stop writing fics about these two…but…I might change my mind…I don't know…I guess I'll just see…

I can't stand it! I won't believe it until I see it…

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gundam Seed or Gundam Seed Destiny…WAHHHH! Poor me…

* * *

**Chapter 6: Terrible Two**

* * *

"Athrun sure is taking long to get punch," Cagalli thought. "I wonder…if something happened."

Cagalli was getting worried. Athrun had never been away this long before. He hated leaving her alone even for a moment. The only reason could be is that something must be keeping him. But what?

"Are you okay, your highness?" Andy asked concerned. He also noticed that her bodyguard was taking too long. She had a worried look on her face that looked so sad. He wanted to cheer her up. "He must be doing something concerning the security. He'll be back soon."

She nodded and forced a smile but the worry on her face didn't disappear.

"Would you care to dance?" bowing politely and extended his hand.

She was about to accept when suddenly two pairs of hands covered her eyes. "Guess who?"

"Athrun!" her heart sang but her head recognized the voice.

She giggled. "Good Evening, dear brother."

The hands were removed from her eyes and she found herself face-to-face with her grinning brother. His wife, Lacus was just behind him looking very serene and beautiful in her white evening gown, her ever present crescent-shaped hairclip on her hair and the simple golden locket that Kira had given her for their anniversary hung around her neck. Cagalli never saw the picture inside it. Lacus never opened it.

Even though she wasn't a singer anymore, Lacus Clyne still had the ability to stop crowds with her mere presence.

Actually…maybe it is no wonder why Kira kept her so locked up…

"Good evening, Cagalli," she greeted, a bright smile on her face.

"Good Evening, Lacus," she greeted back. She couldn't help wondering what she ever saw in her brother…or why she puts up with his paranoid streak at all…

"You weren't really planning to dance with this guy, were you?" he teased. "What would Athrun say? And I don't think this guy has a last will and testament yet."

Andy stared at his in confusion. "Actually I do have a will, it is with my lawyer but what does that have to do with anything?"

Cagalli flushed with embarrassment. "Shut up, Kira! I'll dance with whoever I want to!"

"Great!" he exclaimed. "Mr.-----ah….you! could you keep my wife company please while I dance with my sister for a while? She's tired because we've been dancing since we arrived."

"Umm..sure," he replied, awkwardly. "My name is Andy…."

"Good!" he said not really listening to the other guy, he gave his wife a peck on the cheek and whispered something in her ear. Lacus giggled and nodded. Kira grinned back then began dragging his sister to the dance floor.

"What are you doing! Shouldn't you be dancing with your wife or something?" she mumbled. She was also curious with what in the world Kira said to his wife to make her laugh like that but she had the feeling they wouldn't be telling her.

Kira looked back and blew his wife a kiss and Lacus blew one back trying to suppress a laugh. Cagalli made a face…her brother was acting mushy again…she liked Lacus and all but ever since she got married to her brother she became just as bad. She still doesn't understand what she ever saw in him.

"Lacus shouldn't move too much with the baby," he said. "We weren't even supposed to come but she really insisted."

Cagalli arched one eyebrow. "You do know, dear brother that she's only five WEEKS pregnant, right?"

"Of course…"

"Then why do you act like she's going to break at any moment?"

"Don't you know that having a baby is a delicate responsibility----"

She groaned inwardly. "Here we go again," she thought. "Now he's going to have a ten minute speech on the responsibility of having a baby."

While Kira was still talking, Cagalli was still worrying about Athrun. He was taking way too long. She even thought of looking for him.

"He'll be alright," her brother assured her suddenly. Cagalli wasn't surprised that he read her mind correctly. He did it almost always now. Maybe it was a' twin thing'. "Knowing him, it must have something to do with work."

She nodded but she has her doubts. "You know, brother. It is unusual for you to leave Lacus with another guy even to dance with me."

He shrugged. "That guy I can tell is harmless. Look at him."

She did. She saw Lacus talking demurely but Andy had a very confused look on his face. You could practically see the wheels in his head turning and question marks coming out. Whatever Lacus was talking about the senator couldn't comprehend at all.

"See? Makes you wonder why they elected him?"

"Maybe it is his boyish charm and charisma," she offered.

"You know, if Athrun heard you just now he'd be beating that guy to a pulp."

"Are you really my brother?"

* * *

Athrun spent the last half hour looking for Annie's earring. If his memory served him correctly, it was a diamond earring. It was a simply cut but a bit larger than the average earring but even though it is larger than average, he knew his chance of finding it is slim.

"What have I gotten myself into?" he thought. Unfortunately, he never goes back on his word. He gave his word to always protect Cagalli and he kept it. Well, maybe he did…go away for a while…

Okay…maybe a long while but at least he did come back, right?

Crawling on the ground on all fours in his tuxedo was not his idea of a good time. Of course he'd rather be inside dancing with Cagalli.

Cagalli….

That Andy better not laid a hand on her! That…pretty boy doesn't know what Athrun Zala's capable of…and its better he doesn't try…

"Mr. Athrun?" a feminine voice said. "What are you doing crawling on the ground like that?"

Surprised, Athrun jumped and hit his head on a branch of a nearby tree…

"Ouch!" then he began cursing in…four different languages.

"Mr. Zala, are you alright?"

He knew THAT voice. It belonged to Shinn…Shinn Asuka. "That looked like it had to hurt."

Athrun rubbed the sore spot and continued to grumble. "You're here Shinn? You too, Lunamaria? I'm surprised." He said smiling though his head was certainly throbbing.

Shinn nodded. "Yes, I accepted. Ms. Attha's invitation. I brought Lunamaria with me. I thought I wouldn't know anybody here."

Athrun smiled faintly, trying to hide the embarrass blush he knew was very visible on his cheeks. "So… umm…Lunamaria…how is Meyrin?" trying to change the subject.

Lunamaria noticed right away but decided to let him get away with it. "She's fine. After the war, she actually went back to school to study."

"That's good news."

Shinn wasn't as sharp. "Mr. Athrun, why were you crawling like that?"

Lunamaria…kicked him hard on the…well…shins…

"Owww! What was that for, Luna?"

"Quiet," she warned.

Athrun sighed. "No point in hiding…I was looking for an earring."

"Earring?" Shinn grinned. "Ms. Cagalli's earring?"

"No!" Athrun blushed. "It is that American senator's sister's earring."

"The what?"

The blue haired coordinator instead brushed his pants and stood up. "I'm looking for an earring of a little girl. It is a diamond earring just a little bigger than the average ones."

Luna nodded. "Why would go to this much trouble to look for it? Couldn't you just buy her another one?"

Athrun sighed. "Yes but…this earring is special to her. And besides…"

He paused for effect. "I gave her my word."

Lunamaria stared at him with new respect. She always respected this man, Athrun Zala but she never seen him like this. Determined to find an earring that had nothing to do with him, he's doing this to keep his word and honor. "Just a minute," she disappeared behind the tree for a moment

The leaves rustled and returned with a diamond earring. "Like this one?"

Athrun felt like dancing. This was it! The earring he spent a half hour looking for was there. "Yes! I think that's it!"

"Take it."

"Ms. Hawke, how? How did you find it?"

She simply smiled and shook her head. "I can't tell you…it's a secret…"

"I understand," taking it from her, he pocketed it and started to walk back into the house.

"Ahh! Mr. Athrun. I just remembered." Shinn called out.

"Yes, Shinn?"

"By American Senator, did you mean Mr. Andrew Collins?"

Athrun frowned. "Yes. Why?"

"I think I heard him asking her to dance a few minutes ago…"

Athrun was gone in a snap.

* * *

"That was very nice of you, Luna," Shinn whispered as they made their way back to his car. It was still too early to leave but both of them had duties tomorrow. "You gave up the earring that took you four months of your salary to pay…"

Lunamaria blushed and leaned on her boyfriend's shoulder. "He's never going to find it in this darkness. I couldn't just let him crawl there, right?"

Shinn kissed the top of her head. "You're a good person, Luna."

"Thank you," she said, embracing him to her tighter.

"Has Meyrin got over him yet?"

Luna couldn't reply at first. "I'm not really sure. She looks happy now in her new school and being a student again but…I'm not sure." She took his hand in hers, unconsciously seeking comfort and assurance. "But she'll grow strong. I know she will… someday she might find happiness in someone else."

He nodded. "Let's go…it's about time we leave. We have a lot to do tomorrow."

"Don't remind me…"

* * *

"This is bad," Natsumi moaned. "We never expected that he'd find a friend with the same earring as yours!"

Annie felt like pouting but she had to think of something fast. Ms. Cagalli's brother arrived and is delaying everything.

Her brother always a gentleman, played along with the brother's interruptions of his and Cagalli's bonding time. The two of them needed more time.

The terrible two needed to think of something quick.

Time was certainly against them.

Ms. Cagalli is a good person and Annie really wanted her brother and her to fall in love. She was not about to let this window of opportunity close…

Close…

"Natsumi, I have another plan…first we need---"

* * *

Athrun ran all the way to the house. He felt like hitting somebody! Anybody!

…well…maybe preferably a certain senator. If possible do some very big damage on that face of his, then maybe later kill him and bury his six-feet under.

First he had to find Annie though…she must be so worried about her earring already…

He heard crying again…that had to be Annie…

He followed the voice into a room. It had very large and solid-looking doors. What could Annie be doing here? This does not look like an ideal place to wallow on their misery. Losing this earring can't be this bad.

"Annie? I found your earring."

More tears but no reply.

"Annie, I'm coming in."

Athrun stepped into a very large…closet?

There were rows and rows of clothes, bags, shoes and various accessories. This was a mini-shopping mall. It was dark and creepy. Annie couldn't possibly be here. And does her crying sound so…mechanical?

"I'm out of here."

Suddenly, the door slammed SHUT and locked. Athrun tugged and tugged. This door just won't budge…he was locked in. this can't be the work of the wind. The wind can't be strong enough to close that door…and since when did wind lock doors?

He sat down on the nearest stool. Something cracked and the crying stopped. He was sitting on a….

It was a tape recorder…it was a recorded cry…

Athrun Zala, war hero and Ace pilot, why does he feel like he's been duped by a kid?

"Why does this happen to me?"

* * *

Outside, Annie and Natsumi were trying to suppress their giggles.

Natsumi said, giving her partner in crime a high 5. "We did it, Annie!"

Annie nodded. "That should keep him busy for a while," she said smugly. "What should we do now?"

Natsumi snapped her fingers. "I know! Let's see how your brother and Ms. Cagalli are doing! They should be in love by now, right?"

Natsumi nodded. "You are so smart, Annie! We're going to make big brother Andy happy, right?"

Natsumi, being Annie's bestfriend grew up with her. Andy was like the big brother she never had to her. She was after all an only child. Like Annie, she'd do anything to make him happy. Her mother and father were movie stars too and were always busy. So Andy and Annie were more like her family than her real one.

They skipped to the dance floor holding hands and laughing. "Big brother better be grateful after this."

* * *

**Tsubame:** Great Scott! Hehehehehe… I haven't updated in a while… I forgot to mention that I'm busy with exams and I'm part of a storyboard and we're planning to make a manga. Busy…busy…busy….GAH!

I hate exams….huhuhuhuhuhuhu…I hope I did well…

By the way, is the news really true? Did Athrun and Cagalli really call it quits? Or is there still hope for them in the "ETERNITY"? I hope so…because it breaks my heart. No offense to Meyrin. I like her ok but she is just no Cagalli for me. I hope Fukuda doesn't disappoint. I admit I was VERY disappointed with DESTINY. I admit that I haven't seen Destiny but I've read synopsis and lot and lots of synopsis…

Anyway, can I ask you guys a favor? It's great that you like my story and I appreciate all your reviews but what I want to know is in my writing what do I lack? I'm not contented with my writing style anymore…I feel like I lack something…but you don't have to if you don't want to. Just if you have the time…hmmmm…what do you think?


	7. Chapter 7

**Tsubame: **Hehehehehe…again thank you for all your reviews and replies. I'm going to believe in the power of ASUCAGA! I won't give up writing about them! I don't care what Fukuda says…well…maybe a little since he is the director. It really encourages me to go on…

I don't have time to reply one by one anymore…hehehehe…I'm just going to say the same thing anyway…THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS!

**SeungLee:** Thank you for your reply…I really appreciate it more than ever…my friends have started writing like me too. When I read their works and compare them to mine. I just feel like an amateur. I feel like I'm in a table full of professionals here. I know it is wrong to be jealous of friends but I don't know. I guess I've never really had competition before…they are waayyyy…better…

**Garowyn: **Thanks for the reply. I appreciate you taking the time…your right. I do lack descriptions. That is what everybody says when I ask them to criticize my work. It's very hard for me. I just have trouble playing with words I guess. I'll try to be more descriptive here…

**Jihae: **Hmmmm…maybe I have been rushing this fic recently…about the typos maybe I can get an editor or something…

**anybody here willing to apply? Hehehehehehe…the pay is reading the next chappie before it comes out! I'm the one desperate here! hehehehe.. just kidding… **

**Sleeping Forest:** I knew it! They are OOC! That is what is bad about writing a fic without even seeing the anime… Thanks for the review…but I have a feeling that I do lack something and I'm not going to give up without finding out what it is exactly…

**Feyris:** Yehay! She is alive! Hehehehe…welcome back!

* * *

**Chapter 7: Lost**

"Where is that Athrun?" Kira mumbled. "It is not like him to be gone this long."

After two dances with Cagalli, Kira returned to his wife. Andy was waiting for Cagalli. But then Kira told her that the Prince of Spain wanted to talk to her. It wasn't really a lie…the prince really did want to talk to her. It was supposed to be on the appointment the next day though. But Cagalli and Andy just can't be left alone together.

Not unless Andy never wants to see the light of day again.

Lacus gave him an assuring hug. She understood what he meant. Though Athrun was always busy with security, he checked up on Cagalli almost every ten minutes. This really wasn't like him. He has been gone for almost an hour. What in the world could take him this long?

Lacus smiled and had him face her. "Athrun is fine. Don't worry so much."

He shook his head. "Lacus, I can't get rid of the feeling that something is keeping him. That he is in trouble." He turned to his sister.

She was again buried in a crowd of aristocrats and diplomats. Andy was beside her and he was thankfully not touching her. She was surrounded with inquiries and questions and every few minutes engage in a heated debate with somebody. That should keep her busy for a while.

"I'm going to go look for him," he told her. "There has to be a reason."

"Are you sure?"

He nodded. "He must be in some kind of trouble."

Lacus nodded. She too was worried about Athrun after all. "Okay, but come back as soon as you find him?"

Kira smiled. "Of course."

"Hmmm…" Lacus began to tinker with her pink Haro that Athrun gave once upon a time. The round little ball was making all kinds of annoying noises again. "What shall I do while you're gone, Kira?"

He grinned. "Why don't you and your little Haro sing a song for these poor souls?" he suggested. "Ever since I swept you off your feet, you don't give them that pleasure anymore."

She giggled. "Maybe because you always keep me for yourself…"

"Oh…and I was trying so hard not to be obvious." He teased. Then he took her hand and kissed it. "But seriously…although I hate sharing you…I'll make an exception tonight."

"It would be wonderful to sing in front of an audience again…" she sighed. "But I don't know…"

"You can do it." He kissed her lightly before walking towards the exit. "Oh, and Jack is over there," he said pointing to a large and mean looking man watching them in the far side of the room. "Don't worry. If anybody gives you trouble while I'm gone, I told Jack to TAKE CARE of them."

Lacus almost groaned. Her husband as usual was being paranoid again but then again…she loved him anyway. "I'll be fine…"

Kira nodded then left to look for his bestfriend.

* * *

"Pssst…Annie," Natsumi whispered seeing Kira leave the ballroom. "Isn't that Ms. Cagalli's brother?"

Annie turned towards the brunette boy leaving the ballroom with haste. She frowned like she had just drunk sour milk. "Yes! He's the guy that interferes every time big brother even touches Ms. Cagalli."

"What are we going to do, Annie?" the bestfriend asked. "It looks like he's going to look for Mr. Dino!"

She was quiet for a moment but then she said. "Let him…"

"What! But…bu…but, Annie!"

This time Annie was grinning that grin that told her she had a plan… "Let him find him…because, Natsumi, I have another plan." There was that evil glint in her eye this time.

Natsumi couldn't help but grin too… this ought to be good…

* * *

"Let me out!" Athrun hollered at the top of his lungs while pounding on the two-inch thick door. "Let me out of here!"

Of course no reply came. He knew the only sounds heard from outside were muffled noises and not loud enough to reach the guards.

"Great!" he groaned. "I'm going to be stuck here for hours and Cagalli…" he clenched his fists angrily. He and Cagalli were supposed to be together tonight. That guy…he better not do anything to Cagalli or he'll…he'll…he'll…all he knows that he will not be responsible for broken bones and blood loss…

"Annie!" he hollered again. "Let me out!"

He had been right all along. His only mistake here was trusting Annie. She is after all that guy's sister. They both might have planned this whole set up to take Cagalli from him. They were going to have to do better than this to get him down.

Athrun gave up on the door. Nobody was going to come that was for sure. The door is two-inch thick and solid steel. There were windows all around thankfully so he can breathe. Unfortunately, no way was he going to fit in that 6x6 inch windows, so he can't escape through there. He didn't remember assigning guards there either and even if he did Annie would have just done something to distract them anyway.

He walked to the walls and began tapping and feeling them looking for a button… a lever or anything to activate a secret passage…

He had the coordinator's photographic memory. Before signing this place up as the location for the anniversary, he took a look at the blueprints for this place. It was for well, security purposes and such…he knew this place had secret passages everywhere…all he had to do was find one.

"It had to be here…somewhere," he thought.

Minutes passed and nothing. He finally dropped down and leaned on the wall…frustrated.

"Where is it?" he looked at his watch. He has been stuck in the closet for twenty minutes now… he had spent thirty minutes looking for that earring…he's been missing for almost an hour. "What am I going to do?"

Suddenly, the door burst open and Kira came running in. "Athrun, are you in here?" he finally saw him on the floor. "Athrun?"

"Kira?" Athrun was confused. What was his bestfriend doing here? And boy was he a sight for sore eyes. "What? How? When?"

Kira walked towards him and kneeled down on the floor beside him. "Athrun, what in the world are you doing in a closet?"

"Long story," he said, rolling his eyes. "You have no idea what I went thought the past hour…"

"What?" he asked. "Tell me. My sister's been worried, you know…"

"Really?" Athrun breathed a sigh of relief. So she hasn't fallen into that senator's arms…yet…"Well, it's good to see you. I'd really like to get out of here."

Kira nodded. "Sure, no problem… let's go."

Athrun and Kira stood up and dusted off their pants. "Kira…"

"Yeah?"

"How did you find me?"

"Huh? Oh, that little girl told me that you're trapped here," he shrugged.

Athrun froze all of a sudden. "Little girl?"

Kira nodded. He couldn't understand what the sudden change in attitude meant. "Yes. She is very sweet actually," he said smiling. "

"Blonde hair? Blue eyes? About twelve?" Athrun gulped.

Kira nodded. "Yes, I think she is that senator's younger sister. I think her name was Annie. Why? Do you know her?"

"Kira, we have to get out of here…NOW!" he began running towards the door.

"Athrun? Wha---"

The door slammed shut again and Athrun groaned. Kira stared at the closed door for a moment not really understanding. "The wind?"

Athrun punched the door and exerted as much of his anger as he could. "Not unless the wind comes with blonde hair, blue eyes, twelve years old…and goes by the name on Annie Collins."

* * *

Outside, two little girls were now freely laughing their hearts out. They had just tricked two grown men; not just ordinary men…coordinators…and soldiers and ace pilots of war. Of course they didn't really know this. They were innocents concerning the war.

Natsumi covered her mouth, trying to quiet herself and failing. "Annie, you are a genius!"

Annie blew on her fingers, rubbed it on the collar of her dress and trying to look like a know-it-all. "Yes, I know." She was really enjoying this. She never really thought that they could use the same trick on Ms. Cagalli's older brother too. But it worked like a charm. This was more fun for her than tricking their maids and butlers at home…

Actually, the servants seem to dread her now…they even shiver at the mere mention of her name.

Kira turned out to be as much as a sucker for tears as Athrun. She faked tears and told Kira that Mr. Dino was trapped and she was too weak to open such a big door.

Natsumi looked at the door. She could here faint pounding from within. She knew it had to be Mr. Dino. "How long are we going to keep them in there, Annie?"

"Hmmm… just an hour more probably," she replied. "Without them around, there won't be anything to interfere with Ms. Cagalli and big brother."

"They better make it quick. I don't think that door will hold those two for long," Natsumi said, biting her lip. "Especially Mr. Dino."

* * *

"You've been duped? By a kid?" Kira asked trying to hide his laughter. Athrun knew Kira better than that though. He knew that his bestfriend at that moment wanted to burst out laughing.

"Speak for yourself," he growled. "You're in here too."

Kira frowned. He was leaning on the wall. He had mixed feeling with the sight of Athrun hopelessly pounding on the door. Should he feel amused? Or worried?

They've been stuck in the closet for almost ten minutes now. As much as Kira cared for his besfriend, this was not the kind of bonding that he had in mind. Duped by a kid. "But I've only been duped once. You've been duped twice by the same girl too."

"Shut up, Kira," Athrun spat. "You didn't spend an hour doing the things I've been doing."

The brunette sighed. Athrun was right and they should be doing something now. "What do we do now?"

"The walls…feel the walls and look for a button or lever of some sort," pounding his head on the steel door. "Don't be too optimistic though. I've been looking for it for half an hour."

Kira nodded and began feeling the walls. He froze and turned to his bestfriend. "Athrun? By button, did you mean this?"

The wall slid open revealing a dark passageway but who knew where it will take them.

Athrun stared with openmouthed amazement. "Bu---but--- how? I've been looking for that for the---"

Kira rolled his eyes. "Athrun, do you want to spend the whole night asking and wondering or do you want to get out of here?"

Athrun blinked but then nodded. He'll begin asking the questions later…

* * *

"_Cagalli," Athrun whispered as he took her in his arms. "You know she died honorably, don't you?"_

"_Athrun," she embraced him back. She had just found out that her friend, Persephone had died trying to protect her family from the Dullindal's attacking forces. Unfortunately, even her family died too. "She…Persephone…she was my friend. She was only fifteen! She had dreams of going to college and becoming a doctor to save people! That was all she ever wanted…"_

_Athrun had entered the office in time to see Cagalli shaking and crying at the file in front of her. Without any thought of royal courtesy, he took her in his arms and tried to soothe her grieving heart. Again…she had lost another good soul. _

_They were in her office and she had just received the report on the number and names of the casualties and MIA. Persephone, a teenage volunteer Cagalli met was one of those MIA. With her cheerful blue eyes and light brown hair, she was a vision of sunshine and truly believed that they can achieve peace. _

_Cagalli was impressed by the girl's at times naïve beliefs but couldn't help liking the girl. _

"_Cagalli…" he started to say._

"_What has she ever done to deserve to die!" she demanded. "What? All…all…she ever wanted was to save everybody."_

"_Cagalli, she knew the risks. She knew that in the war she could die at any moment and that she might not leave the battlefield alive."_

"_But Athrun…"_

_He shushed her and kissed her forehead. "She's at peace now. She didn't die in vain. Never for one moment think that she did."_

"_She made me believe that we really could achieve peace…"_

"_And we did…"_

"_But at what cost!" she pushed him roughly away. She was breathing heavily. "She's not even here to enjoy the peace that she helped achieve."_

_Athrun didn't reply. She walked towards the window and stared at the sky. It was clear, sunny and beautiful. Persephone was an incredible jet pilot though she was only fifteen. She loved the sky and said it was her home. During the war, her plane was shot down. It crashed ten miles from shore. Her family never made it to shelter…_

_Cagalli was wearing her Representative's uniform. It was strange…to see this strong leader break down and cry for this one young girl._

"_And for how long, Athrun?" she asked then turned to face him. "How long will this 'peace' last? In a year or two…another war might break and then her sacrifice will become in vain."_

_She never noticed that he appeared now directly behind her. "Then we will keep fighting." He replied. He took her face in his hands and with his thumb gently wiped the last traces of tears on her face. "There…there… Don't cry. She would really hate to see you cry like this."_

"_But…"_

"… _And I will be right here beside you…I will protect you…and I have a feeling…that from where she is, Persephone will too."_

_Cagalli felt the tears stinging in her eyes. For a moment, she could see Persephone's laughing face again and telling her that everything will be all right. "I will protect everyone!" the young girl promised with much optimism and determination sparkling in her eyes. _

_Cagalli just remembered smiling and giving the rookie a light pat on the head. "I'm sure you will…" she replied. _

_The tears finally came and Cagalli jumped into his arms. "Athrun, I don't want to lose anyone anymore!" _

_She tried to lose herself to the scent of his cologne…his leather jacket…with her tears staining his green shirt. He didn't mind…_

"_I know. I don't to lose anyone else either," he held her trembling body closer. "I especially don't want to lose you, Cagalli." He tipped her chin to have her look to him. "I love you, Cagalli. You know that, don't you?"_

_She nodded. "I will do anything to protect you too, Athrun, with all my heart." That was the closest thing to 'I love you' she's ever said. _

"_I know you will." He leaned down and closed his eyes. Cagalli wrapped her arms around his neck and stood on her tiptoes to meet his lips with hers. _

"_I love you," she thought._

"Ms. Cagalli? Are you alright?"

Cagalli awoke from her trance. "Huh? What is it, Ahf…I mean… Andy?"

"Ms. Cagalli, you seemed a bit distracted," he told her. "Are you alright?" he placed his hand on her shoulder. She stiffened under his touch.

She shrugged his hand away. "I'm fine. I'm…just a little worried about…Athr… Alex."

He nodded but said nothing. Cagalli Yula Attha, she was just within his reach yet she was untouchable to him. All the ever thought about was her bodyguard. He was jealous…jealous that she could really care for somebody this much…but it isn't him.

She became quiet again and every few minutes checked the entrance for any sign of him.

"Where are you, you idiot?"

* * *

"Natsumi, they're quiet."

The two were still standing guard outside. They were surprised at the silence from within the closet. There was no more pounding or shouting or anything. It was like they disappeared.

Hesitantly, they opened the door just a crack.

"Annie!" Natsumi exclaimed. "They're not here!"

Annie began pacing. "Where could have they gone?" she turned to Natsumi. "This used to be your house. Do you have any idea where they could have gone?"

Natsumi used to live in that house before she became an actress. But then she and her family moved and sold the house to the Orb government since it is one of the oldest mansions in the country. It was a historical landmark. She thought for a moment then snapped her fingers. "Could have they've known about the secret passages?"

"Secret passages?"

She nodded. "They're everywhere in the house."

Annie nodded with understanding. "The passage here. Where does it lead?"

"The garden…"

* * *

"Are we there yet?"

"For the last time, Athrun, not yet!" Kira shouted. Kira was leading them down the long corridor. Isn't it convenient that Kira has a flashlight pen?

After five minutes of non-stop walking, they finally reached a dead end. "Well, this is it. Now what?"

Athrun frowned. "According to the blueprints, we should find a cord that will trigger an exit. Right over…" he aimed the light at the right side of the dead end. "…here."

Sure enough, they found a cord dangling from the roof. Athrun pulled it and a door slid open.

"Finally…" Athrun sighed with relief as he stepped into what looked like an enormous garden. So far, Athrun could see three fountains and probably every flower known to man. "Over there! That's the direction to the balcony according to the blueprints."

"Well then? Let's go." He knew that Lacus would be worried about him now.

"Wait a minute." He stopped upon seeing a red rosebush. It was surrounded by the white ones. When they were younger, Cagalli used to be called the Desert Rose. She didn't use the much title anymore though. Maybe she was shy but nobody but Athrun ever called that anymore. Every once in a while Athrun still teased her about it and she still blushed every time he did.

It really surprised the two that there was only one red rosebush. It is either the previous owner loved white roses very much or she wanted to emphasize the beauty of the red. Athrun didn't really mind. Just like Cagalli, she is the red among the white. She is one in a million and he isn't about to let her go.

When he saw it, he couldn't help but want to pick one for Cagalli. His precious rose… he picked one up and gazed at it for a moment…smiling. Then he fashioned it on his front jacket pocket. He couldn't wait to give it to her later.

"Ready to go now, loverboy!" Kira rolled his eyes. And Cagalli thought he was mushy…

"Yup!"

Then a scream was heard. It sounded like somebody was in trouble. "HELP ME! AHHHH!"

Both boys turned to the scream. "Kira, somebody's in trouble." He began running towards the sound. Not even stopping to think…

Kira nodded and followed him. Both boys could never ignore somebody in trouble. "Where is it coming from?"

"Over here!" he said entering a passage with walls made of stone and covered with vines. "Over here!" turning to a curve.

Many twists, curves and turns followed after that, desperate to reach the scream but to no avail. It was as if the screams were getting farther and farther away from them but getting more and more desperate by the second. Then the screams for help stopped.

Then Athrun stopped, looked around. He finally realized what had happened and let out a shout of dismay. He then proceeded to punch the walls.

"Maybe the trouble is over?" Kira suggested. He didn't like the murderous look on his friend's face.

Athrun shook his head.

Kira began to look around. The walls had to be twenty feet tall and the surface? It was very smooth. "Athrun, where in the world are we? You do know the way back, right?"

He shook his head. He was too busy concentrating on the voice and desperate to help that he never even took note of where they went in out and much less where they were exactly. "Kira, we've just been duped again…" He whispered viciously.

"What?"

"I don't know where we are but I know exactly what this is. I saw it in the blueprints too," he replied.

"What? What are you talking about, Athrun?"

"Kira, we're lost. This is…" he paused then folded his arms. "A maze…"

**

* * *

Tsubame: Another brilliant trap by Annie and Natsumi. Hehehe…Why torture just one bishie when you can torture two! HAHAHAHAHA…**

As I was writing the Persephone part, I was listening to Gundam Seed midis! You know what? While I was listening, it reached Nicol's piano piece and the idea just came to me. So I guess you don't wonder now about Persephone now. I also haven't written about Athrun and Cagalli interactions in a long time so I wanted to write one here….hehehehe…I hope it isn't too corny…

I seem to write a lot better while listening to midis. Does that work on you too?

Constructive criticisms please!


	8. Chapter 8

Anonymous** Reviewer: **Everybody has their own opinion, so I didn't delete your review. I'm sorry that you don't like my story but… but as much as I like g-seed don't you ever get sick of the serious atmosphere around it. Don't you ever wish that they just lighten up? I know the events in this story are farfetched but I just wanted them to be fun for once. My writing is expressing my soul. My soul is about having fun…that s why I write humor (another reason is that every time I write serious fluff it comes out humor) **I also want to thank SeungLee for reminding me this **and I wanted to write something safe for all audiences. If it bothers you so much, I'm going to start experimenting writing "general" too…

**Tsubame**: I don't hate anybody who is only giving out their opinion but... I'd rather have criticisms that will help me improve my writing. Why fantasy? I don't remember writing Athrun in a sailor uniform, carrying a wand/scepter and saying things like…"**By the power of Justice! I am the protector of the weak! I am… Sailor Aegis!"** (Now this is FANTASY. Fantasy usually involves magic) hehehehehe… I am not bashing, okay,I don't like bashing! It is wrong for me… I just want to know what made you say that…I just want you to know too that even though you flamed me, I want you to know that I still love yah for taking time to review. 

Hmmmm…Athrun in a sailor uniform?…Sailor Aegis?...I like it…I'll store that idea for another day…"Sigh" why do I pick on Athrun so much? 

**DarkTaoAngel:** I'm sorry if you don't like the fic. I just thought your name is very pretty! I honestly like your name and I thought it fit the story very well. Let me make it up to you in some other way. I'm so sorry! Please…

**I want to thank all my reviewers… **falco skater,asga, teerychen305ZGMF X-19A Infinite Justice, Garowyn (thank you so very much!), kenshinlover2002, sanzo-reload, Axel Wildfire, KiraTatashi, lil kagome 13, gseedlover, PINKSISA, SilverSimoneLady, cottongreentea, DarkTaoAngel (of course!), Cagalli Yula Attha, anzcandyangel, Rhonda21SacredBladeanimemistress419i Mel-chan ililplayer, MXC - the show- rocks my socks, Cagalli-Yula-AthhaSleeping Forestanimeluver461shadOwcLifeThe Angels' PrincessFreyrisTetsuniMiyuCagalliasucags, ANONYMOUS-gsd…thanks for all your support… 

* * *

"**Green IS the color of my eyes"**

**By Tsubame Ongaku**

**Beta-read and edited By Garowyn**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Athrun snaps**

* * *

"Yzak, we're late," the lovely brunette, Shiho Hahnenfuss, hissed to the silver-haired boy frowning beside her. "I can't believe that you locked yourself out of your apartment and with your car keys still _inside_!" 

Yzak frowned. He didn't like it that she was treating him like a little kid who did something 'naughty.' It was just a little pinch. So what, it took an hour to finally open the door to his apartment? Was it his fault that his landlady chose this night of all nights to eat out? It wasn't. "We're here, aren't we?"

"Yes, but we are late," she grumbled. "I don't look as good as I did a few hours ago…my makeup isn't fresh anymore."

"Are fishing for compliments, woman?" Yzak frowned. Shiho frowned back and folded her arms in front of her chest. She looked lovely that evening and could really pass as one of those French models, but no way was Yzak going to ever tell her that.

Shiho didn't like wearing dresses, so she decided to stand out. She bought a Paris original. It was a woman's version of a tux. It consisted of a white long-sleeved blouse with black vest that hugged her slim figure and black slacks that emphasized her long legs. Surprisingly, she chose to wear her hair up instead of the usual down.

In the background, Lacus Clyne's voice echoed as she sang her old hit, "Shizukana Yoruni," with her little Haro acting as a radio as he played the melody that she recorded. She hadn't been singing in public for a long time now and seeing her sing now was a great honor. She now singed mostly for Kira or the orphans. They loved to see her sing every once in a while. That was why all eyes in the ballroom were now directed to her. This would probably be the last opportunity to hear her sing for a long time.

"My, my…fashionably late are you, Joule?"

Yzak rolled his eyes. He knew that it was Dearka. "Yes, I know. I wish I could say the same for you, though, Elsman."

Despite what Yzak said, Dearka did look good in his suit, except he already had his tie undone. Dearka didn't like ties; he felt like was a prisoner with them. Miri just rolled her eyes. She, too, looked beautiful that night. Minerva also designed the dress. It was a combination of green and pastel green dress, off-shoulder and knee-length skirt. It showed the right amount of legs with out being too daring, but it wasn't too modest either.

As usual, both girls knew Dearka was going to annoy his friend the whole night and Yzak was just going to pretend to not hear him and hold on to his patience for as long as he could.

"These two will be at it again," Shiho whispered to Miri.

Miri sighed. "You think?"

They watched the two men bicker for a while more before Miri finally suggested, "Want to go freshen up in the bathroom?"

"Okay." Together, they left the two bickering men.

When they were out of sight… "Are they gone?" Dearka asked.

Yzak nodded, still frowning. "What did you want to talk to me about?" Dearka had called him earlier when he was still attempting to climb up the window of his fifth floor apartment. "This better be important."

Dearka nodded solemnly. "It is important." He sighed and looked around to see if anybody was listening before continuing. "Two hours ago Athrun went missing. Now Kira has disappeared, too."

"Elsman, what in the world has that got to do with me?" Yzak demanded. "You think those are problems? Try falling three stories into a garbage can trying to get into your apartment to get the car keys." Yzak winced. He had to take a bath five times just to get the smell out of his silver locks.

Dearka stared at Yzak like he lost his mind. "Are you all right, Joule?"

"You have no idea, Elsman, so don't ask." Yzak groaned. He remembered the pain. He never felt more thankful to be a coordinator than before. Normal men would probably be in the hospital right now and not in a party.

"Anyway, I wanted to go look for them."

"What for?" Yzak asked. "It is not like they are little kids. They are probably just lost somewhere. This is a big house." He folded his arms determined not to move. He had no time for such trivial things. Yamato and Zala could be playing hide and seek somewhere and he wouldn't care.

"They're our friends?" he said hopefully, hoping that Yzak would miraculously buy it as a reason.

Yzak arched an eyebrow. "Nice try, Elsman, but no way."

"I'll be your best friend," the blonde teased.

Yzak shuddered. "Great! More reason not to."

"Come on, Yzak. Be a pal."

"No."

Dearka sighed a sigh of surrender, (comma) but then it transformed into an evil grin. Yzak didn't like that look one bit. "Well, pal. I didn't think that I'd have to resort to this but…" he whispered to Yzak's ear. "Do you want me to tell Shiho that you keep a picture of her under your pillow?"

Yzak froze. His eyes widen to be as big as saucers. "How?" he asked himself. "How did he know?"

Dearka shrugged as if reading his thoughts. "I have my ways, Joule. So are you coming or not?"

The silver-haired soldier gulped, but nodded. He did not want it known to the whole world that he liked the tomboy.

"Okay! Let's go!" Dearka said while doing a very ridiculous pose, sending a lot of eyes turning their way. Yzak covered his face in embarrassment. "Can't this monkey at least act human?"

"Wait! Shouldn't we ask the princess what she thinks first?" Yzak grumbled, keeping his voice as low as possible. It didn't stop people from looking at them curiously, though.

"Come to think of it…" Dearka began to look around for the blonde princess. "Where is she, anyway?"

* * *

Cagalli had escaped to the terrace. She needed to get away from the party for a while. She never felt comfortable with these kinds of parties. They were suffocating; she needed some air. But at the same time, she had hoped to find Athrun there. She leaned on the stone pillars and looked up to the sky. 

The night sky looked beautiful. The stars twinkled like tiny diamonds. The moon shone its full glory. It looked like it was just within her reach.

Cagalli tapped her fingers on the marble stone and frowned. _"What in the world was going on here?"_ she thought. She wasn't stupid. She noticed now that her brother was also missing. She was beginning to worry. This could be a case of kidnapping. Except, she didn't think that Athrun would be taken down so quickly.

She heard footsteps behind her. Instinctively, she turned to find Andy. "Your Highness, are you okay?" he asked. "Annie told me that you'd be here."

She gave him a weak smile and shrugged. "I'm fine, Andy. I just feel a little stressed out, that is all." She forced a chuckle. "I have a lot to do and so little time to do them. You understand, don't you?"

"Of course." He nodded. "I just don't want you to overwork yourself."

"That is a very nice of you, Andy." She turned her attention back to the sky. "I can take care of myself though."

* * *

"Athrun, you must know a way out." Kira shook Athrun. "Don't you remember anything on the blueprints?" The two of them had been stuck in the maze for an hour now. They were getting tired and hungry and Athrun was developing a sudden urge for killing. 

The blue-haired coordinator was clenching his fists. He wasn't going to use them on his best friend, but he did feel like using them on somebody. "There was nothing much in it that can help us. If there was, I would remember."

"What are we going to do?" Kira asked quietly. He didn't want to spend another minute in the maze and who knew what perils had befallen Lacus at that moment? Suddenly, he felt his cell phone vibrate.

"Oh, it's my reminders." He took out his phone and read the text. "Check up on Tori. Hmmm…I'll do it later."

He pocketed his phone again. He looked up to find Athrun look at him with a strange look on his face. "What?"

"You had a phone and you didn't tell me?" he demanded.

Kira rolled his eyes. "Athrun, if I knew this would work, I would have called somebody earlier." He pointed to the bars on the side of the phone. "See? There is no signal here."

"But we can call Tori!" He took the phone and began pushing buttons.

"Athrun, what in the world are you doing?" Kira said. He was afraid that maybe his best friend lost his mind. "Has starvation gotten to you already?"

Athrun ignored him and continued to push buttons. "Don't you see, Kira? With this, I can contact Tori. I designed Tori to be ultra sensitive to your cell phone signal, plus I added a homemade transmitter." He chuckled seeing the shock on Kira's face. "I know, I forgot to tell you. I added that system when you lent me Tori for my present for Cagalli, which I haven't finished yet, unfortunately." He sighed. "But I'll worry about that later."

"Then, what are you going to do with Tori?"

"I will command him to fly here to find us, using his radar, and reprogram him to remember the route he took to take us back outside." Athrun was excited now. He couldn't stand staying in the maze any longer. Finally, they would have a way out! This time, he'd be careful with what tricks the little trickster planned to do. "Let's do it!"

On the other side of the property where Kira parked his car, Tori began flapping his wings excitedly. "Birdie! Birdie!" it cried.

Athrun smiled. It worked and now all that was left is to get Tori to rescue them and quick. "Tori, locate Kira on your radar and come."

"Birdie! Birdie!" came the reply. Tori fell silent and activated its radar. The transmitter was planted in Kira's cell phone. It would be easy enough to find him. It used the radar to analyze its surroundings and took account of every detail around it. It got the location and began to fly. "Birdie! Birdie!" It flew to the locked location.

Tori, too, went through many twists and turns, but unlike the other two trapped inside, it memorized every corner and every paths it took until finally finding them in the heart of the maze.

"Good boy, Tori!" Athrun exclaimed. "We'll be out of here in no time, Kira."

"I'm impressed, Athrun. You actually outdid yourself," Kira praised. "But the next time you go missing, I'll send a search party instead."

* * *

"I'm going in now," Andy told her. "Do you want to come with me?" 

She shook her head. "No, I'll stay here a little longer. You can go ahead. I won't be long."

"Are you sure?" Not moving from his spot, Andy continued. "I can keep you company, you know. Won't you feel lonely?" He didn't like the idea of leaving her alone unprotected.

Cagalli laughed. "Don't worry, Andy. I'm more than capable of taking care of myself." She looked down to the garden below looking at nothing in particular. "I was a soldier before, so I know self-defense. There is no need to worry about me."

"A soldier?" He looked surprised. He never knew that the princess was a soldier and she certainly didn't look the type at that moment being dressed in a gown and jewels. He did get a glimpse of the fierce side of her earlier so maybe he shouldn't be surprised. She seemed to have a very strong character judging from what he observed.

"Yes, I was a soldier," she replied. She remembered her father all of a sudden. He had died for his country. He had died a martyr and though she will never be as great as her father was, she, too, was willing to die with the same honor if the circumstance came. "You couldn't really expect me to just sit back and watch the war happen. I'm not that kind of girl. Many people I care about already died because of war. I will try everything in power to stop it." She then remembered various faces of the people she cared about of her past. Her father, Uzumi Athha, Andy's look-alike, Ahfmed, and Penelope the soldier with a child's dream; these people died in battle and had contributed in though small and big ways to stop the war for the safety of the world.

She must have looked very melancholic because Andy looked very worried now. "Did something happen?"

"No. I'm just remembering something but you don't need to know about it." She didn't really want to tell him. It wasn't that she didn't trust him. It was just that he didn't need to hear it and she always told only Athrun. He understood her because he went through the same pains she did. It was because he had been there, too.

Andy smiled, though it wasn't his full smile. There was something melancholic about his smile, too. "You're a good person, you know?"

She blushed. "Thanks."

They stood in silence for a while. Neither of the two was sure of what to say next.

Cagalli didn't like the uncomfortable silence. "Umm…Andy?"

"Yes?" he asked. He waited patiently for her request.

Without warning the winds changed. A strong gust of wind surprises them and causing little dusts to get into Cagalli's eye. She tried to rub her eyes but it only made the discomfort worse.

"Ah!" she cried, frustrated. "This stings!"

Andy was unsure what to do. He held her face up towards him. Her eyes fluttered, and he gulped. Somehow she managed to look very pretty. He never got to see her face so close before now that he had, he wished he hadn't.

"Umm…Ms. Athha?" he tried to make his voice as calm as he can. "I want you to open your eyes very slowly. I will try to blow the dust away. Can you do that?"

She nodded. She'd try anything to get this irritation away.

"Okay." He held her face steady. "Now open."

Slowly, Cagalli opened her eyes staring into Andy's eyes. His face drew closer to her and she felt his breath blowing at her eyes. It stung for a while. But then the irritation stopped. She blinked…once…twice…thrice. It was gone. She felt relieved. It really hurt!

"Thanks, Andy." She rubbed her eyes, making sure it was all gone.

"No problem." He blushed and scratched his head nervously. "It's nothing, really."

He felt somebody tap him on the shoulder, surprising him. "Excuse me," the person said.

"Ye---" Andy wasn't even able to finish his reply because somebody's fist connected with his face. This was going to get messy…

* * *

"Athrun!" Cagalli screamed. "What in the world do you think you're doing?" 

The green-eyes of the coordinator flashed into a very dangerous color. They were now deep, deep green, very fiery and murderous. "What does it look like I'm doing?" he growled. "I'm beating him up." He had said it so calmly and smoothly that it almost seemed that he was sane. If one were to read his eyes at that moment, Athrun Zala was quickly straying away from sanity.

Kira, who was holding Athrun back and trying to prevent him from doing further damage to the senator said, (comma) "Athrun, do you understand what you're saying?" Athrun struggled to escape from his grasp with his coordinator strength, but somehow Kira managed to hold on to him. "Won't you just stop and think for a while?"

"Why?" she demanded of her fiancé, "Why in the world would you do that? He didn't even do anything!"

Athrun's brows wrinkled, clearly not believing her. "He didn't do anything?" He couldn't help but smirk.

Kira and Athrun ran as fast as they could, following the robotic bird. Every twist and every turn all looked the same to them, but they trusted the bird so they continued to follow. Finally, Athrun could smell the strong scent of roses again. The exit was near so he doubled his speed. Kira even had trouble catching up to the guy. "Athrun, slow down!" He didn't listen. Why should he? Freedom was getting very near. Moments later, they found the exit. They again found themselves in the enormous flower garden. "Good job, Tori!" Kira praised his little pet. The bird fluttered around seemingly happily and crying out, "Birdie! Birdie!" "Let's go back to the ballroom," Kira suggested to Athrun. 

_But Athrun just shook his head. "I've been gone for two hours. I know Cagalli and I doubt that she'd stay in that ballroom that long." He whistled and Tori flew towards him and rested on his shoulder. "I have a feeling that Cagalli is somewhere out of that ballroom. You know how much she hates staying there long."_

_Kira nodded and sighed. "I'll come with you. Who knows what kind of trouble you'll get yourself into next." _

_Athrun nodded and then turned his direction back to Tori. "Tori, locate Cagalli's current location with your radar." _

_Kira shook his head. "Athrun, I doubt Cagalli is carrying her phone right now. If I know her, she could have left it on the table or with somebody else. She doesn't like carrying purses around. She hates it as much as wearing high-heeled shoes!" _

_He shrugged. "Whoever said I placed the transmitter in her phone?" He replied simply. _

_Kira stared at him shocked. "If not in her phone, then where?"_

_Athrun grinned. "Wouldn't you like to know…" _

"_I'm not about to tell him that I placed the microchip in Cagalli's necklace," he thought. He shivered at the thought of what Cagalli might do to him if she found out. "It was just for her own safety. He had to know where she was." _

_Tori took off again after getting a confirmed lock on the princess's location and lead them to the terrace. They were really not prepared for what they saw. Even Kira couldn't believe what he was seeing. But being a coordinator, he couldn't really blame his for what he was seeing. My goodness! He had better eyes than the average person! They were seeing Cagalli and Andy alone on the terrace. Their faces getting dangerously and dangerously close. _

_Athrun's blood pressure rose to knew heights and before he knew it, he was tapping the senator and happily introduced his fist to the senator's face. _

Blood was coming out from Andy's nose. He didn't look at all angry; actually he looked more like he was confused. What had he done? Then it dawned him. He might have misunderstood what he saw a moment ago. It must have looked like they were about to _kiss_.

"Mr. Dino, you've got it all wrong," he started. "Let me explai----"

"Shut up!" Athrun barked. He finally got away from Kira's grasp. Kira was about to restrain him again, but Athrun signaled him to stop. Athrun gave him a look that assured him that he won't hurt the senator anymore; he just wanted to make a few things clear. "Let me tell you what will happen next." He held up one finger. "First, don't talk to her." He unfolded another finger. "Second, don't come ten feet near her without my presence or permission. Even with a ten-foot pole!" He clenched his fists angrily. He was itching to hit him again. "And third, if you ever try to kiss her again. You'll lose more than a little blood, understand?"

Cagalli's jaw dropped with her own amber eyes glowing with anger. How dare he? What right did he have to tell her who to be around with? How dare he try to tell what to do after leaving her to fend for herself for two hours! If Athrun thought she was angry before, she was beyond angry now. "You---you---you idiot! Moron!----" She called Athrun many lovely colorful things. Some were in Latin. Those Athrun couldn't understand. She studied Latin when she was traveling in Greece. She finally finished her long, winded string of insults with, "You jealous jerk! It's like you've suddenly turned into the green-eyed monster."

Athrun laughed. Yes, laughed but it was different from his usual, normal laugh. It was filled with unconcealed anger that could make a grown man shudder. ""Fitting, isn't it?" he replied smoothly. He grabbed her arm, pulled her forcibly towards him and forced her to look him in the eye. "Take a good look, Cagalli, because green _is_ the color of my eyes."

* * *

**Please note: **

The outfit of actress/model **Tilda Swinton** from "Chronicles of Narnia" (She didn't wear it in the movie) inspired Shiho's outfit. Tilda Swinton wore it in a runway show in Paris. I was told that Shiho always wore pants so I thought that this would look good on her. What do you think? Hehehehehe…

**Listening to**: "Let me be with you" by Round Table (Chobits, I love the songs but the anime…ummmm…let's just say surprised me. But putting _a lot_ of things aside it is a good anime)

**Mood:** Hyper! Don't know why! Happy… Happy… Happy… Happy… Happy… Happy… Happy… Happy… Happy…Overdose on CHOCOLATES!

**Working on**: A lot…


	9. Chapter 9

**Tsubame:** Thank you, Feyris! Silly me. How could I forget the Seed mode:P …Hehehehehe…

Thank you again, **Garowyn** for doing the beta-reading! You're the best! You Rock! Need I say more?

Thank you to all those who reviewed! I'm so happy that you liked the last chapter!

**Tamago-chan:** I'm so sorry! I wasn't upset over your review! Honest! You were not the anonymous reviewer I was talking about! I was talking about the one that flamed me! Gomen…I'm so embarrassed. You have the same name of my character? That is strange. Hehe…I hope it doesn't freak you out or bother you so much. Please don't be upset. Thank you for your review. I'm so happy!

**Thank you to:** Feminist1991, PINKSISA, Cagalli Yula Atha, rain angst, Cari-Akira, The Jackle, Rhonda21, SacredBlade, QUEENPaul, animemistress419, blackphoenix, Yukimi noh Daiomoru, Kenshinlover2002, KiraTatashi, Kandida, JC-Athie, sanzo-reload, The Angels' Princess, ANONYMOUS-gsd, SEEDSummoner, Tetsuni, gseedlover, ZGMF X-19A Infinite Justice, Sunflower Seeds, anzcandyangel, mistrial- angel, Feyris, cottongreentea, Tamago-chan last but not least Garowyn!

I can't believe that this fic is finally over, can you? Please don't kill Andy or Annie or Natsumi! WahhhHHH! These characters really grew on me! I'm an AsuCaga fan too but I really don't like to kill my characters (unless I hate them or it is for the good of the story) because they "get in the way." If it makes you feel better, Andy is mine! He's mine! Nobody will have him! –laughs evilly- -coughs- Okay, I'm getting freaky. **I want to acknowledge MELCAR16. She is the writer of, "CATtastrophe." She gave me the idea of Alex the kit! Cari, Thank you too for your support! Garowyn! You're the best!**

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**Disclaimer**: I don't own Gundam Seed or Gundam Seed Destiny! Wheeeeee… if I did own it, chaos will befall the Gundam World! Isn't it great that I don't own it then? There is no telling what I'll end up making the characters do especially, Athrun and lately Yzak. I love torturing them so much! Heheheheehe…

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**"Green IS the color of my eyes"**

**By Tsubame Ongaku**

**Beta-read and edited by: Garowyn**

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**Chapter 9: Confessions from the little Drama Queen**

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**Last time…**

_Cagalli's jaw dropped with her own amber eyes glowing with anger. How dare he? What right did he have to tell her who to be around with? How dare he try to tell what to do after leaving her to fend for herself for two hours! If Athrun thought she was angry before, she was beyond angry now. "You---you---you idiot! Moron!----" She called Athrun many lovely colorful things. Some were in Latin. Those Athrun couldn't understand. She studied Latin when she was traveling in Greece. She finally finished her long, winded string of insults with, "You jealous jerk! It's like you've suddenly turned into the green-eyed monster."_

_Athrun laughed. Yes, laughed but it was different from his usual, normal laugh. It was filled with unconcealed anger that could make a grown man shudder. ""Fitting, isn't it?" he replied smoothly. He grabbed her arm, pulled her forcibly towards him and forced her to look him in the eye. "Take a good look, Cagalli, because green is the color of my eyes."_

* * *

Cagalli was not about to let him have the upper hand. He kept pulling her face to look at him and demanding for her to listen. Cagalli had always been a rebel and when told what to do, she hardly ever listened. She refused. Nobody told her what to do. Call it stubbornness or disobedience. She didn't care. She was in no mood to listen to him.

"No!" **s**he screamed as she struggled to get away. "Let me go, Ath…Alex!" She almost let his realname slip. She struggled but was no match for Athrun of course. Even when she used every ounce of her strength to get away, it was like being held in place by a chain. Athrun literally had an iron grip.

"Look at me!" He shook her. "I said look at me, Cagalli!"

She had no choice but to do it. She met Athrun's eyes and she gasped at what she saw. There was something different in Athrun's eyes. They looked blank yet it was impossible because he was obviously furious and now a very different colored green. They were now a greener than green color. She'd seen this before. This was his SEED mode…but why? This only happened when he was in battle. Could he really be this angry?

She tried to ignore himbut Athrun shook her again. "Do you see now, Cagalli?" **h**e demanded. "Do you see now what you did to me?" He was frightening her but she stood her ground. She wasn't about to back down just because his eye color changed.

Kira walked towards Athrun, seemingly relaxed and composed. Not showing his anger at all. "My friend, I'm sorrybut I have to do this." He punched his friend right on the kisser.This made Athrun lose his grip on Cagalli as he stumbled back. Cagalli ran to her brother's side. "Never shake my sister like a rag doll ever again." He clenched his fists. "Or you will be answering to me." His frown looked deadly and he, too, converted to his SEED mode. His lavender eyes looked blank but much anger was hidden in their depths. "I didn't save her from that disastrous wedding of hers only to be mishandled by you."

Cagalli tried to assure her brother that she was okaybut he didn't need her assurance. He needed Athrun's assurance that he'd never hurt her again. She remembered her wedding to Yuuna Roma Seiran. It definitely wasn't her favorite memory. Her brother was always there to protect her when Athrun wasn't there to do it. She was angry at first when he kidnapped herbut he only did it because he knew Seiran was using her. He saw something she didn't. Maybe she did but chose to ignore it.

"Alex? Have I made myself clear?" Kira extended his hand to him to help him up.

Athrun stared at the hand at first but then took it. His eyes then returned to their original color. Cagalli felt grateful to have the old Athrun back. Kira pulled him up to his feet and Athrun began to brush the dirt off from his pants

Normally, Cagalli would just beat Athrun up for being gone so long and hitting her friendsbut since her brother already did that what she did was…no, she didn't exactly jump into his arms just yet. It was more like…stomp on his foot. Unfortunately, for Athrun, she chose today to use stilettos.

"You jerk!" **s**he screamed after doing said action, making Athrun jump up and down clutching his foot. "Why don't you think first before you do something as rash as that? He was blowing the dust off my eye. Geeez…what in the world made you think that I'd kiss him? I love you, you idiot!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I wasn't thinking!" Athrun started to defend himself but then noticed her last sentence. Was he hearing things now? Had he heard what he thought he heard? "What? What did you say, Cagalli?"

She blushed and looked away. "You heard me the first time, you know. So don't make me repeat it." She forced herself to look at him. Her cheeks still flushed. "You really are an idiot, you know that?"

Athrun smiled softly and nodded. "Yes, I agree. I really am an idiot." He almost forgot that. He almost forgot that Cagalli loved him and nobody else. She was his more than she was willing to admit. He doubted her again and he hated himself for that.

Kira looked from Cagalli to Athrun and knew it was time to make his leave. He turned towards Andy. He was now up and was now watching the two people looking at each other so softly and very much in love. "Andy," Kira told the senator. "I think it is time that we left."

Andy nodded and was about to leave with him. "Stop!" Athrun shouted. "Wait for a while, Mr. Collins. I need to talk to you about thepredicaments that happened to Mr. Yamato and I for the past few hours."

Andy turned to him in confusion. "Huh? Predicaments? I don't know what you're talking about."

Athrun frowned. "Don't play dumb with me! The closet! The Earring! The Maze! Don't any of these ring a bell?"

"Alex…" Kira warned. He didn't have to bring that up. That was just asking for more trouble.

Andy looked positively oblivious. What was Mr. Dino talking about? All this time he was with Ms. Athha, so what was he babbling about? Then it hit him. "Mr. Dino, tell me what exactly happened." He wasn't sure but from the sound of it he had a good idea of what Mr. Dino was talking about.

"Huh?" Athrun couldn't believe him. Andy was listening to him intently. Was this guy for real? "Fine, it all began when I left to get Cagalli something to drink…" he started. It took awhile but Athrun told him the whole story. He told him about seeing Andy's little sister, about the search for the lost earring, getting locked in a closet, and trapped in a maze.

Andy nodded and listened to every detail. Finally, he sighed. "I understand." He turned towards the shadows. "Annie, Natsumi. I know you're there so come out." When they didn't come out, Andy's voice became sterner. "Annie, Natsumi. I'm warning you, young ladies. Come out."

At first there was silence but then slowly trickled out of their hiding places. First was Annie coming out from behind the curtains, and then Natsumi came out from behind some bushes.

Annie chuckled nervously and then nudged Natsumi. The two girls curtsied politely. Andy's stern face didn't disappear. He understood now why the two little girls disappeared for the last two hours. They were not "playing" as they told first said they were causing trouble as usual.

"Annie, I thought I told you and Natsumi to behave," Andy scolded them. "Did you do all those things to Mr. Dino?"

"Ummm…" Annie bit her lip nervously. Suddenly, she burst into tears and ran to Cagalli's arms. "I'm so sorry, Ms. Cagalli. I was just trying to make my brother happy."

Athrun snorted. Like he was just going to let her go for such an excuse. The little demon was such a drama queen, he thought.

Unfortunately, Cagalli's heart melted. How could she get mad at such a sweet little girl? "I'm sure you meant well, Annie," she said. "But next time don't do it again, okay? It will only hurt other people more if you did. Your brother even received a bruise because of it."

"Mr. Dino should go to jail," she grumbled. Athrun and Kira heard very clearly but Andy and Cagalli didn't.

"What was that, Annie?" Cagalli asked softly.

"Nothing," Annie replied sweetly. "I'm just so sorry for being naughty Ms. Cagalli. I won't do all those things to Mr. Dino ever again."

"That's good to hear, Annie." Cagalli kissed her forehead while Athrun just stared at her disbelieving. Just like that, Cagalli forgave her?

Andy knew that it was time to leave. His sister and friend had caused enough trouble already. "Annie, Natsumi let's go. We'll discuss your punishment later."

"Awww…" the two girls chorused. The two girls knew that they were in so much trouble nowbut they didn't regret any second of it. It was fun while it lasted. Before leaving, each girl gave Cagalli a kiss on the cheek and big hug. "Bye-bye, Ms. Cagalli," they said and then left.

"What a couple drama queens," Athrun grumbled.

"I'm sorry for the trouble these two caused," Andy apologized to them. "Annie enjoys playing tricks on the help. I never thought that she'd cause trouble for you."

Cagalli shook her head. "She meant well," she assured him. "I'm sure she'll behave. I just don't understand what she meant about making you happy."

Andy blushed as red as tomato but didn't reply. Athrun saw and frowned. He knew exactly what the girls' intentions were. He didn't exactly find it an acceptable reason. The girl was trying to steal his fiancée for her brother!

"Mr. Collins, I'll walk with you in," Kira said as Andy passed him. "I need to get back to Lacus. If I know her, she'll still be singing to comply with the requests and over-working herself." Kira also knew that Athrun and Cagalli needed this time alone to patch things up between them. "I'll see you guys later."

The next thing Athrun and Cagalli knew, they were finally alone. Cagalli stared nervously at Athrun, unsure of what exactly to do. She felt awkward. It seemed a lot had happened to Athrun the last two hours she'd been worried about him. There was an awkward silence between them now and she was desperate to break it.

"Ummm…Athrun, I—" she started to say.

"Did you mean it?" Athrun interrupted. "Did you mean it when you said that you love me?" He watched her reaction intently.

Cagalli stared at him for a moment. Suddenly she rolled her eyes in disgust. "No, of course not, Athrun. I always tell random guys that I love them." She shrugged. "It's no big deal."

Before she knew it, Athrun grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him and stared deeply into her amber orbs. At first she suspected that he was angry but then she inspected closer. She then realized that he was neither amused nor angry. Cagalli couldn't read Athrun at that moment but she knew that he was looking for a straight answer.

"Athrun?" she whispered.

He stroked her cheek with one hand and buried his other hand in her lustrous hair. His eyes suddenly became soft and he broke into a smile. It was in times like these that Cagalli just wanted to drown in those green pools of his. She blushed as she smiled back happy just to see _her_ Athrun again. His jealousy flattered her but annoyed her at the same time. She was grateful though just to have him back.

"I love you, Athrun Zala," she finally said. "I'm sorry it took me such a long time to tell you that." She shrugged. "I guess you can just say that I'm slow."

He shook his head. "No you're not slow."

They could still hear the music from inside the ballroom. Lacus's voice was unmistakable. Kira must have given her permission to sing just one last song for the night. The last song for tonight was, "Fields of Hope." It was one of Cagalli's personal favorites.

"Cagalli, I know it is a bit late but would you give me the honor of this one last dance?" Athrun asked. He brought her hand to his lips and gently kissed it.

A thought crossed her mind then. He looked more like a prince charming than ever that moment and she felt like Cinderella but the only difference was that none of this would disappear after the clock struck midnight. Her prince would still be there to protect and she would always be by his side.

"Yes," she answered. "I'd love to."

He nodded. "You didn't need to tell me that you loved me." He took her arms and had them wrap around his neck. "I can see it every time I look into your eyes, but..." He wrapped his arms around her waist and began to dance to the music."…It feels good to be reminded every once in a while."

She leaned her head against his chest, closed her eyes and lost herself to the rhythm. She finally got her dance with Athrun. Her night was finally complete.

"Cagalli?"

"Hmm…" She swayed, following his every movement.

"I love you too."

* * *

"Awww…come on, Annie," Natsumi whined. "You have to admit that Mr. Dino and Ms. Cagalli make such a cute couple."

The two girls got away from Andy's watchful gaze. They hid behind the huge curtain and watched the dancing couple under the moonlight. With a heavy heart Annie had to agree that she'd never seen a more beautiful looking couple. She didn't mean any harm with her pranks. She only wanted her brother to find someone.

She felt disheartened and disappointed that Ms. Cagalli won't be her brother's wifebut she didn't want to make her sad either. She was happy with Mr. Dino and even Annie could see that. She wished Ms. Cagalli all the best and Mr. Dino to take care of her. If he didn't, she'd do much worse things next time.

"Psst…Annie, who's that pretty lady with big brother Andy?"

Annie turned to her brother. He was talking and laughing with a lovely, brunette woman wearing a tux. Annie always thought that the tux was a men's suit,but the lady wore it like it was made for her. A frowning, silver-haired male was with her, his arm wrapped protectively around her waist.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Natsumi?" Annie grinned evilly.

"I think I am, Annie," Natsumi chuckled.

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A week after the ball, Athrun was relieved to have everything back to normal. Natsumi and Annie were back in the States to film their next movie, "Double Troublemakers." Annie and Natsumi made Cagalli promise to see it. Athrun smirked he couldn't have thought of a more fitting title for those two.

Andy was busy man. He thanked Cagalli for her hospitality but he was now needed back in the States. He left with his sister, promising that they'd come to visit soon. Athrun really hoped not.

Athrun was also glad that Yzak returned to his usual stubborn self. For some reason, Yzak had been acting strangely since the party. He kept glancing around him like something was going to strike him at any moment. Ever since the two girls left, he'd been acting more like himself. Though, his usual self was annoying.

Athrun walked towards Cagalli's office with a big box at hand. He was proud of his latest gift to Cagalli. It took him some time but it was really worth it to see her smile. The box was wrapped in a navy blue gift wrapper and emerald green, satin ribbons.

Inside the office, Cagalli was seated on her desk with her back at him. She was on the phone and talking to Kira. He could guess that it was about the security system again.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Kira?" she practically screamed into the phone. "The security is fine the way it is. I don't need you to tinker with it. Have I made myself clear?"

She quieted for a while. It was probably Kira saying something. He just stood by the doorway and watched her for a few minutes.

"Keep Kisaka out of this, Kira." She tapped her fingers on the desk.

Another silence.

She groaned, probably from frustration. She was fighting a losing battle. She wasn't giving up though. No way was she going to lose to her little brother. "We'll talk about this later at dinner," she finally said. "It's at your mansion, right? I haven't seen the kids in a while. How is Lacus?"

Kira replied.

"Oh, she's fine." She turned to finally see a smiling Athrun by the doorway. She smiled back. "Give her my regards, I have to go. Bye, Kira!"

She hung up. "What are you doing just standing there?" **s**he asked him. "Come in." She noticed the big box he was carrying. "Is that for me?" She raised her eyebrows

He shrugged. "It might be."

"What is it?" She bounded towards him.

"Open it."

She took the box from him and slowly began to untie the ribbon. She felt the box shake. Shocked, she backed away. "What do you have in there? A bomb?" she demanded.

He chuckled. "No. Of course not!" He shoved it towards her. "Just open it."

She gave him a look of suspicion but then proceeded to untie the green ribbon. She then unwrapped the gift wrapper. She hesitated before taking the lid of the box. To her surprise, a little creature popped out of the box.

It was a little mechanical kitten. It was blue in color and had green eyes that shone like emeralds. It climbed up Cagalli's arm and began to rub itself to her face and purred softly. Cagalli's face shone with delight. It was such an adorable gift.

"Athrun, he's beautiful!" **s**he exclaimed. She stroked the kitten and it purred louder from pleasure. She picked it up from her shoulder and began to cuddle and cradle it in her arms. "I love it! What's his name?"

He took her chin in his hand and had her face him. "Alex." He dared her to argue,but she didn't. It was because the little critter did remind her a lot of Athrun Zala **a.k.a.** Alex Dino.

She smiled. Now she understood what the kitten was for. It was another reminder that she was his alone. She remembered the ring on her finger and the emerald necklace around her neck. Athrun never made her forget it. Athrun's possessive nature was getting more and more apparent by the day. She felt like snorting. Yeah, right! Like she was ever going to allow him to control her. In his dreams maybe.

"Alex it is," she sighed.

"Don't I get a kiss for my hard work, princess?" He pretended to whine. "Alex took six months to make, you know?"

She giggled. "Aww…poor baby," she teased. Alex suddenly jumped from her arms and began to prance around the room before jumping on the sofa. It licked its paws and then laid down on the soft sofa for a catnap.

Cagalli's eyebrow arched. "He needs a catnap?"

Athrun shrugged. "I programmed him to act like a real cat. So sue me."

"Tell me. Did you program fur balls too?"

Athrun's eyes widened and pretended to contemplate with the idea. "Gee…I never thought of that." He glanced over to the sleeping cat and grinned. "That can be arranged."

She laughed so hard that she began to hold her stomach to contain herself. Athrun watched her, very pleased. This was what he wanted to see. This was the reason he worked so hard the last six months. With her still laughing, Athrun took her into his arms. He joined her laughter.

When they were done, they stared at each other's eyes completely content.

"Are we just going to stare at each other like this?" Cagalli murmured. "Or are you going to kiss me?"

Athrun's eyes widen in surprise but then chuckled lightly. "Not until you tell me the magic words."

Cagalli groaned as she rolled her eyes. She wrapped her arms around Athrun before finally saying, "I love you, Athrun."

"That's what I wanted to hear." He took her lips in his in a passionate, soul-stealing kiss…

**THE END**

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**Tsubame:** Hmmmm…I'm working on a new fic but I'm having second thoughts about posting it. Please give **Constructive Criticisms… **

**Please Visit my new livejournal! W w w . t s u b a m e o n g a k u . l I v e j o u r n a l . c o m (just take away the spaces) I want to work on a new story but I don't know which one to choose from the two drafts I made. Please help me! **

**Listening to**: AIR (I really recommend this anime! It is just so adorable! –squeals- **Ryuuya is MINE**!) soundtrack and Kareshi Kanojou no jijyo (SOS! SOS! YEHAY!) soundtrack + BLEACH soundtrack + GetBackers soundtrack

**Mood:** Lazy…very lazy…very bored…wants to sleep….ZZZZzzzzzZZZzzzzz…

**Working on: "Double Identities"** Chapter 4 and my new fic,** "Fighting Spirits." **Please watch out for it! If I ever decide to post it…hehehe…


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